CALGARY - A valiant effort from the University of Calgary Dinos on Saturday afternoon went unrewarded as the UBC Thunderbirds rode a two-goal effort from forward Janine Frazao to a 2-0 victory at the West Varsity Pitch in Calgary.

BOX SCORE

Frazao, who scored 10 goals in 2009, twice beat Calgary goalkeeper Kristen Barton, getting through the Dinos defence midway through the first and then capitalizing on a Barton miscue in the waning minutes of the match.

Frazao had a total of five shots in just less than 70 minutes of total playing time.

Barton had a solid game otherwise, making eight saves against a consistently strong Thunderbird attack in the losing effort.

Morena Ianniello (pictured) and Lindsay Burrowes led the way for the Dinos with two shots on goal a piece, with Ianniello getting the best chance in the second half. Coming in from the left side, Ianniello just missed a cross with an open net in front of her to keep it 1-0 UBC.

UBC netminder Meghan Best had eight saves in the victory, and five other Birds had a shot on goal each.

The Dinos benefited from an all-around stability not seen last year with veterans such as fullback Caitlin Milne and midfielder Brittany Benson returning to the pitch after a year off.

Calgary head coach Robin Slot acknowledged the improved play from 2009 despite dropping the tough match.

“I am so pleased with how we played today,” said Slot. “I know the girls are a little down about the result, but we played extremely well and worked very hard.”

“If we keep playing like that and can find a way to convert our opportunities, we will be very good this year,” concluded the coach.

Calgary (0-1-0) will invite the Trinity Western Spartans to the West Varsity Pitch on Sunday, while UBC will head south to face off against the Lethbridge Pronghorns, who dropped their match on Saturday to the Spartans by a score of 2-0.

-UC-