A new force in the universe

By Lawrence Bailey

At 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning, most of us were sleeping off hangovers. The exception to that rule is the University of Calgary men’s soccer team. While the rest of the world tossed, turned and stumbled to the toilet, our pitch warriors were boarding a bus for a high noon showdown with the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns.

Wiping sleep from their eyes, they rumbled into Lethbridge and piled off the bus only to be informed their game wouldn’t be played until 2 p.m. Aside from the obvious disappointment of missing out on the clichéd Wild West-style showdown, the boys now had to bide their time for a couple of hours. Rumour has it they watched Arsenal move atop the Premiership standings.

"I was pretty pissed off," laughed Dinos striker "Réal" David Hernandez about the delay. "I mean, I could have stayed in bed until 10."

Despite the delay, the show did go on and the Dinos lived up to expectations. Not even one week after handing the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds their first loss of the year, the soccersaurs did what they went there to do, dispatching the Pronghorns 2-0.

"We expected to do well," said Head Coach Andy Gibbs. "I was happy with the game we played."

The offence on this day came courtesy a couple of first half strikes. Fullback Colin Hill, an unlikely offensive contributor, op-ened the scoring by putting one behind Pronghorns keeper Will Garcia at the 19 minute mark. Hill controlled the high ball with his chest before he knocked it over the keeper.

Twenty minutes later, halfback Jon Yumol put the Dinos up by two. The benificiary of an odd-man situation, Yumol ripped a shot from just inside the box past the keeper and into the far corner.

"We controlled the whole game," said Hernandez. "In the first half we could have scored four or five goals. They played better in the second but didn’t get a shot on net. The play was around their box pretty much all game."

The boys get the Thanksgiving weekend off before starting a pivotal four game homestand. With games against the Pronghorns, Trinity Western University and the Universities of Alberta and Saskatchewan, and a record of 2-3, a solid showing is necessary if they want to shore up their playoff hopes.

"If we want to make playoffs, we need to win at least two or three of those games at home," Hernandez stated.

Considering the Dinos close out the campaign with a tough road trip to Victoria and Vancouver, it’s really that simple.

G-G-G-Goal Notes:

Dinos striker and fan favourite, the Firefighting Spaniard Réal David is closing in on a piece of U of C athletics history. With six goals credited to him thus far, he only needs three more tallies to eclipse the current single season Dinos goal record of eight. Luckily, there’s an abundance of Sunday games remaining on the soccersaurs schedule.