By Tanya DeLyzer and Amanda VanSteelandt
This final week of regular season soccer competition was full of Pronghorns and Pandas and Dinos, oh my!
A Pronghorn, more commonly called an antelope, uses its sharp vision to see danger and its superior agility to run away from it. The University of Lethbridge Pronghorns were ecologically disappointing this past weekend. They neither saw the danger, nor ran from it. After toying with their food on Sat., Oct. 30 the University of Calgary Dinos devoured the Pronghorns on Sun., Oct. 31. The winds of change were blowing in Lethbridge on Saturday as the Dinos took the lead with a goal from Rocky Josan in the 27th minute. This was the first and only game this season at which the Dinos scored first!
Yet still, the desperate Pronghorns managed to claw their way back and tie the game with a set-play in the second half. The U of L scorer was Ricky Rushton off of a cross from Justin Tse. For those of you who don’t care to count, the final score was 1-1.
The Pronghorns were invited back for dinner on Sunday. Down early in the first half, again the Dinos were taking it from behind. The first goal was catalyzed by a free kick near the Dinos corner, and run in by Brandon Ferguson of U of L.
The frustrations were obvious when leg holds became rampant and whistles abundant. Bad boy Andrew Waiand drew two yellow cards in the first five minutes of the game. Rob Birdsall tallied a second goal for the antelope to finish the first half. I know, I know. We said they won. We’re getting to it, slowly but surely, like the Dinos.
The second half was a feast after the Dinos got motivated and organized. After lots of foreplay, they finally got the balls into the danger zones. Lauren Ramos was the first to score for the Dinos in the 46th minute. The frustrations seemed to switch sides, as the Pronghorn goalie was heard screaming profanities. This fire was fuelled further by a pair of textbook goals from Maz Tabash and Carlos Cruz. After assisting Cruz, Adam “A-Mac” MacDonald stepped into the limelight and kicked the antelope while they were down, scoring in the 84th minute. The final score was 4-2 for the U of C.
To close out the season, the Dinos travelled to frosty Edmonton to make up a game cancelled earlier in the season. The University of Alberta Pandas Brett Bachelu scored the only goal of the game in the first two minutes. The game was brutal and bloody, as usual, but the Pandas came out with the win that vaulted them into third place in Canada West and secured them a playoff spot.
The Canada West finals are here in Calgary, Nov. 6-7. The Dinos have a guaranteed spot as the hosting university.
“They have to be ready from the first minute and play like their life depends on it,” Head Coach Andy Gibbs claims. “The other teams have a lot of fire power. They have to learn that it’s better to play with the lead.”
The Dinos take on the first ranked Trinity Western University Spartans Sat., Nov. 6 at 2 p.m. on the new pitch. The final match-ups will take place Sun., Nov. 7 at 11:30 a.m. for the losers and 2 p.m. for the winners.