Paul Cartledge - Golden Bears and Pandas Athletics
EDMONTON - Despite a goal by the No.2 University of Alberta Golden Bears in the final 10 minutes, the University of Calgary Dinos were able to reply in the final five, earning a crucial 2-2 draw for the visitors, Saturday afternoon at Foote Field.
Senior forward Tolu Esan and senior midfielder Ajay Khabra each scored their fifth goal of the season in the tie, sophomore forward Ajeej Sarkaria recording an assist to keep pace with Mitchell Popadynetz of Thompson Rivers for the conference scoring lead of 17 points.
Third-year midfielder Cristiano de Carvalho netted his first of the season for the Dinos on a penalty kick while team-leading scorer Bori Falaye scored in the 88th minute to give Calgary the draw.
The tie keeps third-place Calgary (now a 6-6-1 record) just ahead of fourth-place Mount Royal (4-4-5), who finished with a scoreless draw in Saturday's action across the city of Edmonton against the MacEwan Griffins, and just behind second-place Saskatchewan (7-5-2). Since position in the standings is ranked by winning percentage, a win tomorrow against MacEwan will guarantee Calgary at least a third-place finish.
In Saturday's game against Alberta, Esan scored the only goal in the first half when he put home the rebound of a Sarkaria shot in the 39th minute.
De Carvalho got the Dinos back even when a Golden Bears foul in the Alberta crease forced a penalty kick that the Calgary, Alta. native made no mistake on in the 72nd minute.
Only 10 minutes later, the Golden Bears reclaimed the lead as Khabra took advantage of a fortuitous bounce of the Dino defence, potentially giving Alberta a second consecutive season with double-digit wins.
Yet in the dying moments of the game, rookie defender Dondre Bailey let off a quick shot that Falaye redirected with a header into the Golden Bears net and salvaging a point.
Alberta will host the Mount Royal Cougars in their final home game and regular season game, start time at 2 p.m. MT, while the Calgary Dinos head across the North Saskatchewan River to face off against the MacEwan Griffins, game time at 2:30 p.m. MT.