CALGARY - The Calgary Dinos soccer teams and the West Varsity Soccer Pitch will be busy this weekend, hosting four different teams from around Western Canada. As Canada West soccer season winds down, all four games this weekend will significantly affect playoff scenarios in both conferences.
The Dinos women's soccer team is sitting in a favourable position, having the luxury of being able to control their own playoff destiny for the time being. If the Dinos can continue to string wins together, they should be comfortably in the playoffs in two weeks time. Their next obstacles are the Canada West surprise Manitoba Bisons who blew them out in the first weekend of the regular season 4-0, and the Regina Rams who tied the Dinos 1-1 that same weekend.
After spending thanksgiving weekend resting their minds and bodies, the Dinos will be looking to get back to the grind and gain momentum as the season winds down. A big win over the Fraser Valley Cascades two weekends ago put them one point ahead of the Saskatchewan Huskies for the sixth and final playoff position with four games remaining. In order to keep that final spot, Calgary will need to quickly find the on-field consistency that they have been looking for all season.
Midfielder Lindsay Burrowes (3rd, Calgary) and rookie forward Tessa Miller (Calgary) have provided solid offense for the Dinos in the past four games, and are beginning to become serious weapons for the Dinos. As games are becoming more important, players such as Morena Ianniello (3rd, Calgary) and Cayla Scavo (3rd, Calgary) need to step up alongside Burrowes and Miller to form solid team offensive pressure.
Courtney Heffernan (3rd, Calgary) and Kristen Barton (1st, Calgary) with the help of a solid team defensive effort have looked good thus far. However, similar to the offense for the lady Dinos, to find themselves playing in the Canada West post-season, a commitment to consistency in net is essential.
The Manitoba Bisons exploded out of the gate in Canada West, going undefeated in their first six games. In their first seven games, Manitoba sported three top individual point leaders in the Canada West, and looked to be a force to be reckoned with. However, the Bisons have come crashing down to earth, having been shutout in the past three games against BC teams. Manitoba will certainly like to reclaim their Canada West dominance this weekend against the Dinos, and will need to find their offense in order to do so.
The Regina Rams have had a very rough season to date, and currently are just looking for any sort of a spark. They have only managed to score three goals in their ten games and are still looking for their first win of the season.
The Calgary Dinos men's soccer team is not sitting in as good of a position as the women's team, struggling through a very frustrating year. Having won only one game, and being thus far unable to find any consistent offensive pressure, the Dinos are hoping to turn things around this weekend. This will prove to be a very difficult task, as they host Canada West powerhouses UBC and the University of Victoria, who are currently deadlocked in the standings for first place overall.
The postseason is not out of the question just yet for the Dinos, who are currently 11 points back of the fourth place team in the Conference, the Alberta Golden Bears. But with only four games remaining and only the top four teams moving on to the playoffs, the Dinos would have to win out to have even a fighting chance at the playoffs.
Perhaps a more realistic goal for the Dinos at this point is focusing on making good on their offensive opportunities as well as tightening up on defense. For this to occur, their youthful lineup will need to become wiser on the pitch, and eliminate the mental errors that have cost them these opportunities and subsequent goals thus far this season.
Goals have been hard to come by for the Dinos, as they have scored only ten in ten total games. Veteran players such as Carlos Cruz (5th, Calgary) and Lauren Ramos (5th, Calgary) have thus far been disappointing on offense while rookie forward Alex Hanne (Calgary) has been solid in the five games he has appeared in. All three will look to get better and finish strong as the season winds to a close.
Goalkeeper #J.P. Crescenzi# (3rd, Calgary) has been the best Dino this season, and will need to be sharp yet again this weekend as he faces two excellent offensive teams.
The UBC Thunderbirds and the University of Victoria Vikes have been the class of Canada West all season, and have both already clinched playoff berths. Wins this weekend are important for both teams as they battle it out for first place in the conference. Look for UBC goaltender Srdjan Djekanovic (4th, Vancouver) and Victoria forward Cole McFarlane (4th, Calgary) to be difference makers this weekend, as they both dominate their respective statistical categories in Canada West.
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