Olivia Krol, Dinos Communications Assistant
CALGARY- Powered by an early first-half goal, the University of Calgary men's soccer team broke out of a recent funk with a zealous offensive and defensive performance, beating the University of Winnipeg Wesmen 5-0 Saturday afternoon at West Varsity Pitch in a critical Canada West Conference match.
After a tough week versus the Mount Royal Cougars, the Dinos were able to get their groove back, finding the net in the 28th minute. Jorge Leon Gomez received a pass from Mark Bohdan, and fired a powerful shot that trickled into a goal.
Following the goal by Gomez, the Dinos had a flurry of shots in the first half, but the Wesmen defense was able to keep the match at 1-0. Winnipeg didn't fail to create a few dangerous situations of their own, but remained unlucky throughout.
Coming into the second half, the Dinos did not relent, and continued their attack successfully, scoring four goals. In the 54th minute, Kieran Lane-Oppenheim took a feed off Dominick Zator, and beat the keeper to the middle-left of the net as he buried his fourth goal of the 2016 season.
In the 60th minute of the game, Zator wrestled the ball from an opponent, and skillfully flicked a quick pass over a sprinting Dominic Russo in stride. The veteran then tapped the ball into the net, outmaneuvering the charging goalkeeper, and scoring his 14th goal of the season.
Not satisfied with his two assists, Zator hungrily scored his first goal of the season in the 81st minute. Zator fired the pass received from Michael McKinnon, forcing the ball to skid past a diving Wesmen goalkeeper, only to settle in the right back corner of the net.
Russo remained hot throughout, scoring the final goal of the match, and his second of the game, in the 82nd minute. Forward Lindon Fedorick fed Russo the ball, who then took a few dribbles before firing the ball neatly into the net.
"I think we did great," gushed head coach Brendan O'Connell. "We bounced back from a disappointing result against Mount Royal, and though we aren't at full strength at the moment, I was pleased with how we performed today. We bounced back in the right minute; in the first half, the gaps were too big between front and back, but the boys pulled it together. We talked about it in half, and the boys were told to press their opponents, and win the ball to create chances. The second half was just totally different to what the first half was.
The Dinos played a strong, defensive match as goalkeeper Hunter Brett earned his third clean sheet of the season in his 11th outing. Brett was forced to save seven shots on goal, and the game finished with the Dinos generating 18 shots, while the Wesmen produced five.
Up next the Dinos will once again face the Winnipeg Wesmen in tomorrows game, Sunday October 16, at West Varsity Pitch at 2:15