CALGARY - The Dinos womens' soccer team maintained their perfect start to the season with a 3-2 victory over the Grant MacEwan Griffins on Sunday at Varsity West field.
The win puts the Dinos at 2-0-0, good for second place in Canada West east division (with two games in hand) after one weekend of CIS play. The loss keeps the Griffins without any points, after also falling to the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns 2-0 on Saturday.
Like yesterday, pressure from the Dinos came early. In the third minute, forward Natalie Arnett drilled a shot off the Griffins' post from the edge of the 18 yard box.
Perhaps buzzing from the close chance, the Dinos scored their first just a minute later. Forward Jordan Smith received a pass on the edge of the box from midfielder Mollee Ramsay, turned her mark, and drilled a well-placed strike into the top right corner.
Ten minutes later, Smith found herself with a great chance to double her tally. Arnett made a bursting run down the right wing and laid the ball off for Smith, who was free in front of goal. Smith's point-blank one-timer was saved brilliantly however, by Griffins' first year keeper Emily Burns.
The Dinos controlled the early parts of the game, with a slew of attacks. Center back Kayla Evans was vital in keeping the score at 1-0, putting in some strong tackles for the Griffins.
"We could have run away with this early. We had three or four clear-cut chances and we didn't put them away. If you don't put good teams away, they're going to come back and make a game of it, which MacEwan certainly did today," said Dinos head coach Troye Flannery.
The momentum shifted halfway through the first half, with the Griffins pouring players forward in hopes of an equalizer. Dinos defenders Amy Hockings and Emma Partridge were kept busy, with both forced to make several tackles and clearances.
The Griffins' pressure paid off in the 32nd minute. Dinos keeper Samantha Chang-Foidl charged out of her box to clear a loose ball, but botched the clearance, allowing first year Griffins forward Isabelle Dobbin to lift it over her and into the net.
"We've been scored on a couple of times this year and in each case, they were poor goals to concede. We've given the opposition goals," Flannery said.
While the Dinos picked up their offense for the remainder of the half – including another powerful shot that hit the post from midfielder Kayla Kreutzer – the score remained 1-1 at the break.
The beginning of the second half was marred by some rougher play, with referee Mike Stacey forced to dish out yellow cards to both teams.
Like yesterday, it was the Dinos who broke the deadlock. Midfielder Kayla Kreutzer scored her first goal of the season in the 55th minute. The second year midfielder fired a shot from 20 yards out that found its way into the Griffins net, despite Burns getting a hand to it.
The Dinos doubled their lead barely a minute later. Smith worked her way inside the Griffins' box before being tripped, giving the Dinos their second penalty shot of the season. Ramsay stepped up to take the spot-kick, confidently placing her shot just inside the left post to make the score 3-1.
The next 20 minutes were fairly uneventful, with neither team giving the other an inch. Smith remained the Dinos' main attacking threat, with four shots in total. The Dinos were confident in possession, but also looked willing to go for long balls over the top of the Griffins' back line.
"If the other team takes away our space, we'll find space behind their back line, because we're athletic enough to do so," Flannery said. "We're going to come up with solutions based on the opposition and what they're doing."
The game came back to life in the 76th minute. Dobbin picked up the ball for the Griffins just inside the Dinos box, before lobbing a shot over Chang-Foidl and into the Dinos' net off the crossbar for her second goal of the game.
Despite sustained pressure from the Griffins in the last 15 minutes, the Dinos were able to hold on for the three points.
Flannery said he was pleased with his team's start to the season.
"It's certainly how you want to start. We have very little to complain about with respect to results. Obviously we're still a work in progress and we'll chip away at the things we need to do better."
The Dinos' season continue at home next weekend with games against the University of Regina Cougars and the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.