CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos women are mired in a log-jam for a Canada West playoff spot, while the No. 9 men's team faces perhaps their toughest test yet.

Going into the Thanksgiving bye week tied for fourth place in Canada West, the Dinos women now prepare for their upcoming weekend battle suddenly tied for only fifth, one spot out of the coveted fourth and final playoff spot.

Calgary (3-4-1) has the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades to thank for that. The Cascades surprised many in tying Trinity Western before defeating the UBC Thunderbirds at Thunderbird Park behind three Ellen Kuyer goals last weekend.

With UFV now at 13 points comfortably in fourth, Calgary and three other schools now feel the immediate heat to keep pace in the annual postseason push. Both Calgary and Saskatchewan sit tied at 10 points in the standings, while Victoria and Regina remain within striking distance at nine and eight points, respectively.

Calgary heads east this weekend to face the Regina Cougars (2-4-2) and the Manitoba Bisons (0-5-3), two teams they fared completely differently against.

The Dinos will be looking for revenge against the Cougars, who have as many wins (two) through eight games in 2010 as they did through their previous 49 games. One of those recent victories came at the expense of Calgary, who dropped a 2-1 decision at the West Varsity Pitch three weeks ago. The Dinos came back to beat the Manitoba Bisons on that same weekend, winning by a 3-1 margin.

Calgary is led by a rejuvenated Tessa Miller, who earned BlackBerry CIS Player of the Week honours for her four point performance over the Lethbridge Pronghorns two weekends ago. Miller is tied for fifth in the conference with seven points.

Fifth year striker Morena Ianniello leads the conference in shots with 46 despite having troubles converting her opportunities, while midfielder Sheila Morrison ranks third in assists with three.

The Cougars are led by Tegan Koroluk and Megan Florizone, who each have a goal amidst their leading roles in the Regina offence. Goalkeeper Laura Harrison has fared admirably for Manitoba, allowing only 1.57 goals per game despite being winless.

The Calgary Dinos are arguably the biggest surprise of the 2010 men's soccer season. At 5-1-2, the Dinos sit in second place in Canada West behind the undefeated Alberta Golden Bears, and rank ninth in the national poll after a terrific first half of the year.

Forward Izak Lawrence has been the story thus far, scoring six of the Dinos' 12 goals through eight games in his first full year in the Calgary red and white. With eight total points, Lawrence ranks second in the conference behind Alberta forward Sam Lam, who has 13.

While the offensive spark has been a nice complement in 2010, the main reason the Dinos have been able to compete consistently lies in their ability to defend. Calgary is first in the conference in goals allowed at six, keeping teams such as UBC and Trinity Western completely off the scoresheet.

Leading the league with five shutouts and a.882 save percentage, fifth year goalkeeper #J.P. Crescenzi# has been sensational through eight games for the Dinos, playing all 720 minutes available to him thus far.

The defensive core of Matthew Reid, Dustin Ruddell, Jeff Marsden, and Ilya Zelinskiy have had just as much to do with the team's stinginess however, and seem content playing steady soccer without much of the limelight.

Calgary now prepares for perhaps their biggest tests of the season in road rematches with the Trinity Western Spartans and the UBC Thunderbirds. Three weekends ago at home, the Dinos drew at zero with the Spartans just a day after stunning the then -No. 2 Birds with a 1-0 victory.

With both B.C. teams below the Dinos in the Canada West standings, another strong weekend showing would not only prove to many doubters that those games in Calgary weren't merely flukes, but it would give the Dinos more room to breathe at the top.

The Spartans are led by Danfi Parker and Sasa Plavsic, who have seven and five points respectively, and their goaltender Andrew Fink, who has four shutouts. The Birds lean on their netminder Zach Kalthoff, who owns a league-leading 0.70 GAA, and a well-rounded offensive attack. Eleven different players have scored for UBC over eight games.

Following their weekend road swings, both Dinos teams will return home to face the Saskatchewan Huskies and the Alberta Golden Bears Oct. 23-24.

-UC-