Men’s soccer also good

By Lawrence Bailey

It wasn’t pretty folks, at least not when the dust settled.


Facing a pair of squads they will be fighting down to the wire for a Canada West playoff berth, the Dinos men’s soccer team had something to prove at Foothills Stadium Sept. 27-28. Sadly, they merely reinforced many cliches about young teams and confidence.


Both games saw the soccersaurs come out firing on all cylinders, Saturday against the University of Victoria Vikes and Sunday against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. Taking convincing 1-0 leads into the dressing room at the half in both games, the young Dinos squad was looking good. However, the lack of experience that comes with a team boasting only a half dozen players with more than one year of experience shone through in the last 45 minutes of each contest.


"I don’t think we were that bad in the second halves, there was just absolutely no way the second halves were going to be as good as the firsts," said Head Coach Andy Gibbs. "The half time didn’t help us, but it definitely helped them. In each case, 10 minutes after half we got scored on and it’s not something we’re mature enough to handle yet."


Indeed, in both games the visitors evened the score in the 53rd minute, and the focus, confidence, and aggressive play that had characterized the first half disappeared with their lead.


Against the Vikes, the Dinos managed to battle back and knot it up at two, however soft defense and mental lapses in keeper Rick Urbanczyk’s box eventually caught up with them. A marker by Kyle Finner in the 71st minute put the Vikes ahead for good, en route to a 3-2 victory.


"Second halves like that happen," explained Urbanczyk, who was noticeably frustrated between the pipes all weekend. "Once one guy starts doing his own thing it disrupts the whole team. The back four, up front, in the middle–we need 90 minutes of concentration across the board."


The T-Birds took a similar approach, blazing out of the gate to open the second frame, scoring a mere eight minutes in and throwing the Dinos into disarray and desperation. The more experienced West Coast squad controlled the play and significantly limited the Dinos’ chances. After adding goals in 72nd and 89th minutes, the T-Birds sent the Dinos off the pitch pointless and licking their wounds.


"Next weekend we’ve got a pair of teams coming in looking for points," stated Urbanczyk. "Everyone wants the three points when they step on the pitch. We didn’t get them this weekend, so with a good week of practice we need to be ready to get them next weekend."


The road doesn’t get any easier for our soccersaurs. They host the nationally ranked #5 University of Alberta Golden Bears, a team they lost 2-0 to in the season opener, and the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, a squad they topped 1-0 despite being clearly outplayed earlier this year. The Battle of Alberta goes Sat., Oct. 4 at 2:15 p.m. at Foothills Stadium, while the Dinos-Huskies tilt takes place at the same time and place the following day.


Goal Notes:


Despite disappointing results over the weekend, the play of veteran midfielder Freddie "Belgian Fury" DeCaigny was eye-popping at times. Repeatedly using his fancy footwork to make the opposition look foolish, the Belgian Fury brought the fans at Foothills to their feet more than few times.