BOX SCORE CALGARY – The University of Alberta Pandas scored early and held the lead perfectly from start to finish in a 3-0 shutout victory over the University of Calgary Dinos Saturday afternoon at the West Varsity Soccer Pitch.

BOX SCORE

A goal by Kayla Michaels in just the third minute of play turned out to be the winner as Calgary couldn't muster enough offensive chances to beat the Pandas' goalkeeping tandem of Kelti Biggs and Christine Tallon. It marked the first time in the 2011 season that the Dinos have been held off the scoreboard.

After Michaels' unassisted tally, Elise Emmott beat Calgary 'keeper Tara Ellis in the 30th minute – also unassisted. Not satisfied with a two-goal halftime lead, the Pandas stormed out of the gates from the opening kickoff of the second 45 as well, and Sarah Smyth fed Amanda Black in the 47th minute to ice the game at 3-0.

Tallon came in to mop up for Biggs in the 67th minute, meaning the two netminders will share the shutout. They turned aside all seven shots the Dinos were able to fire on goal, with Biggs stopping six of those. Ellis also made seven saves between the pipes for Calgary.

The Pandas carried the play for much of the game, firing a total of 17 balls toward the net compared to 10 for Calgary. Alberta had a slight edge in corner kicks as well with six to the Dinos' four.

The win for Alberta keeps the Pandas right in the thick of the hunt for first place with a 7-2-0 record, good enough for 21 points. They trail first-place Trinity Western by just three points and second-place UBC by one in the race to host the Canada West Final Four in early November.

For the Dinos, the loss sets up a huge match-up Sunday with the Saskatchewan Huskies. Calgary (4-3-2) trails Saskatchewan (5-3-1) by two points for the fourth and final playoff spot after the Huskies defeated Lethbridge by the same 3-0 score Saturday in southern Alberta. The Dinos-Huskies clash, which will kick off at 12 noon on Sunday, is a virtual must-win for Calgary to keep its playoff hopes alive. Calgary defeated Saskatchewan 2-1 in the teams' other meeting this season way back on Sept. 10.

The Pandas travel south to face the Lethbridge Pronghorns (0-8-1) Sunday afternoon.

-UC-