The University of Calgary Kickoff weekend was not the homecoming the Dinos women’s soccer team wanted as they drew their first match 1-1 with the University of Alberta Pandas on Saturday. They followed up with a 3-2 loss to the University of Saskatchewan Huskies at the West Varsity soccer pitch.
Saturday’s game against the Pandas started with the Dinos taking an early lead after striker Morena Ianniello scored in the 10th minute of the match. The Dinos continued to dominate the play in the first half, creating numerous scoring chances, but were unable to find the back of the net a second time.
The Pandas managed to tie the game after Christina Le scored 43 minutes into the game.
The goalkeepers thwarted offensive chances in the second half, ensuring that the game ended in a draw.
In the second game of the weekend-doubleheader, the Dinos welcomed the Huskies. The game was much different than Saturday’s match as the Dinos started slow, continued slow and only started to put chances together late in the second half.
The Huskies dominated the opening minutes of play and grabbed an early lead when Elizabeth Hudon put a quick shot past Dinos goalkeeper Courtney Heffernan.
Huskies head coach Tom LaPointe applauded his team for getting the first goal, which allowed them to control play for the duration of the game.
“[It was] very crucial for us because in our last two efforts we were scored upon first,” he said. “And then mentally we went downhill, so it was critical for us to score first and I think we played a lot better that way.”
The Huskies controlled the ball well for the remainder of the half and continued to produce excellent scoring opportunities. They capitalized on a late chance in the first half with one minute left to play when Kaitlyn Johnson blasted the ball into the Calgary net giving the Huskies a 2-0 lead.
The Dinos started off the second half as they did the first– seemingly forgetting they were playing in a soccer match. In the early minutes of the second half, Jamie Lemay of the Huskies secured the ball and slid it past Heffernan for the third goal of the game. The Huskies continued to keep the pressure on the Dinos with several breakaway attempts, only to be thwarted by Heffernan’s excellent goaltending.
Shortly after Anderson’s goal, the Huskies switched to a more defensive style of play, allowing the Dinos to control possession of the ball for the remainder of the game. The Dinos benefited from sloppy Husky play and a goalkeeper error, but ultimately ended up one goal short of the tie.
Tessa Miller and Caitlin Milne scored the late goals for the Dinos, who were unable to capitalize on further opportunities and could not salvage the game. The Dinos’ best chance came late in the second half when they were awarded a free kick, but sent the ball over the net.
LaPointe was not pleased by his team’s collapse and the Dinos’ resurgence.
“That’s just the nature of the game,” he said. “When you’re ahead you stay back and you think you’re going to defend. We had a couple of chances where we should have finished. All hats [off] to [the Dinos], they kept coming at us. We were happy with the result. We needed a ‘W’ so we got it.”
The Dinos take to the road next weekend looking for their first win of the season as they face the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds and the University of Victoria Vikes.