CALGARY – The Calgary Dinos came back from a three-goal deficit to take the lead, but a UBC goal with 10 minutes remaining salvaged a 4-4 draw for the Thunderbirds amidst blustery conditions Sunday afternoon at Calgary's Hawkings Field.

UBC remains in first place with a 5-2-1 record, two points up on the surging Alberta Pandas. The Dinos, who have an automatic berth to the CIS championship Nov. 3-6 as the tournament's host, sit in third place at 2-3-3.

The entertaining game saw the Dinos apply huge amounts of pressure from start to finish, but the Thunderbirds capitalized on virtually every one of their limited opportunities. UBC took a quick 3-0 lead in the first 16 minutes of play, but the Dinos responded with three of their own in just 13 minutes to knot things up at 3-3 before the half. Each side scored once in the second 35.

“They (UBC) didn't have the ball in our zone for the first seven minutes of the game,” said Dinos head coach Jenn Swagar, “but when they did, they shot and they scored. We need to bear down and get big saves when we need them so that the flow of the game stays in our favour. For the amount of offensive opportunities we had, the results don't reflect that. Our word today was 'finish' – everybody contributed today and there were positives, but it comes down to execution.”

The Dinos had most of the game's opportunities to score, racking up 13 short corner opportunities compared to just three for UBC. A Calgary corner was whistled just seconds before time expired, giving the Dinos an opportunity to end it with a last-second win. Despite getting two more short corner opportunities off the original call, the Dinos were unable to capitalize and a shot rolled wide of UBC 'keeper Bea Francisco to end the game.

Serah Keglowitsch opened the scoring for UBC in the eighth minute, streaking down the left wing and firing a shot that beat Dinos netminder Steph Petrowitsch low to the stick side. Cassandra Tayler added two more in quick succession in the 12th and 16th minutes, first with a backhand that beat a screened Petrowitsch five-hole followed by a breakaway tally where she finessed the ball into the left corner of the goal.

Just like that, it was 3-0 UBC – but the Dinos stormed back. Kaitlyn Longworth got Calgary on the board with a penalty stroke that she sent top shelf over Francisco. Minutes later, Courtney Campbell dangled through several T-Birds and earned a short corner opportunity, which she converted in the 23rd minute to make it 3-2. Substitute Janell Lautermilch completed the comeback in the 32nd minute as she tipped a rebound from another corner opportunity past Francisco, and the teams headed into the halftime break tied at 3-3.

Seven minutes into the second half, the Dinos took their first lead of the day when Longworth scored again, poking it past Francisco on the short side. Calgary continued to apply pressure and limited UBC's offensive opportunities, but the Thunderbirds again took advantage of a rare chance when Shanlee Johnston kept at it and finally beat Petrowitsch on the third chance during a scramble in front of the Calgary goal.

There were a couple of anxious moments for UBC with the training staff called out to assist injured players. Francisco got up slowly after Calgary's third goal after taking a hard shot to the left leg, but she did get up quickly and play resumed after a short delay. In the second half, two-goal scorer Tayler ended up face down on the turf after what looked like a bad collision with a Dinos defender, but she was able to walk away as well.

The 2011 Canada West season now hits the home stretch, with just two weekends of conference play remaining. UBC stays on the road next week to face the fourth-place Victoria Vikes (2-6-0), while the Dinos close out their home schedule with a two-game series against the Alberta Pandas.

SCORING SUMMARY
UBC – Sarah Keglowitsch 8' (FG)
UBC – Cassandra Tayler 12' (FG)
UBC – Cassandra Tayler 16' (FG)
CGY – Kaitlyn Longworth 17' (PS)
CGY – Courtney Campbell 23' (PC)
CGY – Janell Lautermilch 30' (PC)
CGY – Kaitlyn Longworth 42' (FG)
UBC – Shanlee Johnston 60' (FG)

GOALKEEPERS
UBC – Bea Francisco 70 MP, 4 GA
CGY – Stephanie Petrowitsch 70 MP, 4 GA

-UC-