CALGARY – Tying it up in dramatic fashion in the 90th minute, Morena Ianniello saved the day for her Calgary Dinos against the Alberta Pandas, drawing at 1-1 on Sunday afternoon in Calgary.

BOX SCORE

It marked the first goal of the season for Ianniello, who finished up her five year regular season career at home, and it couldn't have come in a more timely fashion.

Shooting a sharp angle from the left side, Ianniello banged it off of an Alberta defender in front, which completely handcuffed Alberta goalkeeper Kelti Biggs as she watched it trickle into her net. The goal not only solidified the tie for the Dinos, but it gave them the vital point in the standings as they enter their final weekend of play.

The Dinos ended up with five shots on goal, while the Pandas had two. Calgary goalkeeper Kristen Barton stopped two of those shots, while Alberta keeper Kelti Biggs stopped four of them for the Pandas.

Alberta opened the scoring early on their first shot of the game, where midfielder Christina Le sent a rocket past Barton from just inside the box. The fifth year was the beneficiary of a pass from Heather Lund, who makes it her 11th point of the year with the assist.

Calgary received strong efforts from their two other senior players in their last game at home as well. Brittany Benson was her typical consistent self in the middle, controlling flow of the game, while Lindsay Burrowes was a constant threat as she roamed around the offensive zone.

Alberta's defence, one of the stingiest in Canada, had let in only four goals leading up to Sunday's match. Aside from the late Calgary marker, Alberta, led by fifth year fullback Keshia Wallin, played just as aggressively in their zone, allowing the Dinos to have the midfield but nothing consequential in the penalty area.

Ianniello was enthused with the result of the match.

“While it's sad that it is my last game here, I can't think of a better way to finish it up,” said Ianniello. “To personally help us salvage the tie is a really great feeling.”

Ianniello commented as well on how important it was to get the extra point in the standings.

“Only one other team had managed a tie on Alberta this year, and for us to be the second is huge,” the striker explained. “It will definitely help keep things closer in the standings.”

Calgary will finish their season next weekend on the road, where they will visit the Fraser Valley Cascades and the Victoria Vikes. The Pandas will return to Edmonton next weekend to round out their season, where they will host the Trinity Western Spartans and the UBC Thunderbirds.

-UC-