What happens when a soccer team only decides to play 45 minutes of a game? They get eviscerated. Just ask the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns men’s soccer team.
After a hard fought first half saw the Dinos lead 1-0 on a balmy September afternoon, the ‘Horns came out apparently unaware soccer matches are 90 minutes long. The end result? A 6-1 thrashing powered by a pair of goals and an assist courtesy Canada West Male Athlete of the Week, Dinos co-captain Adam McDonald.
"I didn’t try to do anything differently, the ball just found my foot and my teammates did a great job setting me up," the jubilant midfielder, who played as a striker on Saturday, explained. "It was just a weekend where the breaks went my way."
Not to be outdone, the Belgian, lanky third-year midfielder Freddie DeCaigny, tallied a pair of markers of his own.
The party didn’t stop Saturday however, as the back end of the weekend home-and-home was played in the dusty hole south of the city the U of L faithful call home. While the hometown crowds spurred on a better effort, the result was unchanged as the Dinos took their second match in as many days, besting the hosts 2-0, running their record to 3–1.
The victory marked the second shutout in as many games for Dinos keeper Rick Urbanczyk, who blanked the University of Saskatchewan Huskies a week earlier.
"The Lethbridge game was a little bit easier, the guys were a lot tighter at the back," the second-year netminder beamed. "We came into the game knowing what to expect. In the U of S game, we didn’t know how good we were."
The Dinos have no time to rest on their laurels however, as the schedule offers them no respite in a tough Canada West Conference. A pair of tilts at Foothills Stadium Sept. 27 and 28 will be key for the Dinos, offering them a true test of whether the playoffs are a possibility or merely a sick tease perpetuated by the West Coast teams and those dastardly University of Alberta Golden Bears. Our men on the pitch host University of Victoria Vikes and the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, a pair of teams they need to beat if they want to secure one of the four playoff spots.
Goal notes:
While the Pronghorns may have been underwhelming on the pitch, some of their names suggest they’re better behind closed doors. As one disgruntled journalist pointed out, the name "Mitch Duke" would be more at home in the credits of a porn film than on the ‘Horns roster sheet. If only Diggler were still around there could be a Battle Royale…