CALGARY - For the first time since 2006, the Dinos men's soccer team has cracked the national Top 10 rankings, while the Dinos women get set to push on with their biggest challenge of the season behind them.

After convincing victories over the once No. 5 Victoria Vikes and the Fraser Valley Cascades, the Dinos move into the eighth spot in the newest version of the CIS rankings, a list they haven't seen since Halloween of 2006, where they were also number eight.

With a group of highly skilled new faces joining together with a solid nucleus of veterans, first year head coach Brian McDonnell has instilled a fresh and winning atmosphere amongst the team. Izak Lawrence, who sat out 2009 with an injury, is one of those new names making an immediate impact, earning Canada West Athlete of the Week honours for his three-goal performance this past weekend.

Once a team that preferred to grind out low scoring victories, Calgary has shown up in 2010 as a much more dynamic offensive team. Led by Lawrence and Brian Delaney, who combined for five goals against Victoria and Fraser Valley, the Dinos scored seven times on the weekend, more than half of the 12 goals they managed through 14 games in 2009.

First year Dino Brett Howard looked every bit the offensive force that the Calgary coaches projected, notching two assists on the weekend, while fifth year team leaders Matthew Reid and goaltender #J.P. Crescenzi# provide the steadying force the Dinos need in the backfield.

The Dinos will now board a bus for Edmonton and Saskatoon this weekend, where they will face the Alberta Golden Bears and the Saskatchewan Huskies, who recently split their opening weekend series.

Alberta returns its second-team All-Canadian midfielder, Brett Colvin, who scored the lone goal in the Sunday loss for the Bears, and goalkeeper Jaswinder Gill. Saskatchewan boasts a 2009 All-Canadian of their own in Josh Northey, who came up huge for the Huskies last Sunday, scoring two goals in a 3-1 victory over the Bears. The victory was the Huskies' first since 2000 over Alberta.

The women's side kicked their season off against two of the tougher opponents they will see, and while they lost to both UBC and Trinity Western by scores of 2-0 and 2-1 respectively, optimism is still high amongst the lady Dinos.

With a strong veteran team of players, the Dinos believe that this is the year they will compete for a playoff spot in both Canada West and at Nationals. They showed they could at the very least compete with the no.1 ranked Spartans and No. 4-ranked Thunderbirds, now they must prove they can beat the other teams in Canada West.

The Dinos are led by forwards Morena Ianniello and Tessa Miller, who remain scoreless but are constant threats around the net, and midfielders Brittany Benson and Lindsay Burrowes, who each notched a point against Trinity Western.

In Edmonton on Saturday, Calgary will face a University of Alberta Pandas team that scored six goals in two days against the Saskatchewan Huskies, winning both games by scores of 5-0 and 1-0.

Heather Lund and Amanda Black, who combined for three goals against the Huskies, will put the offensive pressure on Calgary goaltender Kristen Barton, while 2009 second team Canada West All-Star Keshia Wallin provides lock down defence from her fullback position.

The Huskies, whom the Dinos meet on Sunday, have yet to score a goal in conference action but return forward Elizabeth Hudon, who scored nine goals in 2009, and second team conference all-star midfielder Daniela Fuenzalida.

Both teams will head on the road together this weekend, before returning home to host four different opponents on Sept. 25 and 26. The women will host the Manitoba Bisons and the Regina Cougars while the men will host the No. 4 UBC Thunderbirds and the No. 7 Trinity Western Spartans.

-UC-