In soccer, abstinence is not best

By Bogle and Selnes

It was another disappointing weekend for the Lady Dinos Oct. 1-2 as they continued their winless streak at home. The weekend ended up netting the Dinos a loss and a tie, but they were unable to net themselves a goal.

The weekend’s BC saga began on a chilly and overcast Saturday afternoon. The Dinos took to the pitch against the top-ranked University of British Columbia Thunderbirds (4-0-3). It was a chance to prove themselves against the nation’s best; but the only thing proven this game was defense dominates the western conference.

The Dinos only major defensive breakdown came in the 69th minute, when, on a short UBC corner, Janine Kerr calmly lofted the ball over the rushing Dino players to an unmarked Amy Babb at the far post. Babb calmly placed a low shot past a helpless Dino goalie, Taryn Swiatek, netting the first and only goal of the game. This would be the game’s lone excitement, as Dinos proved unable to beat the T-Bird defense for an equaliser.

The Sunday sun somewhat shone on the Dinos as they managed a tie against the formidable Trinity Western University Spartans (3-2-2). Each team was their own greatest nemesis, as mental mistakes and missed chances mastered the match.

Swiatek reiterated this point, noting that in order to do well in the playoffs, the Dinos need to limit the mental mistakes that have plagued them for the past three games. She also acknowledged that, although the Dinos showed a notable improvement in comparison with the Lethbridge match Sun., Sept. 25, they still have a long way to go to do well in playoffs.

It seems there has been a serious lack of penetration for the Dinos on home turf. The offence seems novice and unsure how to score. Hopefully, the Dinos coaching staff has something up their sleeves in order to come out on top in games to come.

The Dinos suit up against the University of Manitoba Bisons (4-1-2) Oct. 8-9 on the West Varsity Pitch at noon.