BOX SCORE
CALGARY – Substitutes and rested starters made the difference for the University of Calgary Dinos on Sunday afternoon at West Varsity Soccer Pitch as they came from behind to draw against the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades 2-2.

The Dinos were coming off 3-0 loss to Victoria on Saturday as they were unable to build off the momentum of two draws last weekend.  The Cascades improved to 3-1-0 in their last game after a 2-1 victory over the Pronghorns.

The starting line-up for Calgary had some changes as first-year standouts Maddie Lee and Nikki Furukawa were left on the sideline to begin the match. Head coach Matthew Sheppard tried to get as many fresh faces as they could into their last contest and looked to be doing the same thing on Sunday.

“I thought we started the game really well today, unfortunately we let ourselves down with poor defending, but the game was always there,” said second-year coach Sheppard. “At the start of the second half we said to the girls that you just got to come out with the intentions you started the game with”.

The game started off with back and forth play as neither game was able to gain an edge on the other.
Fraser Valley eventually got on the board in the 40th minute. Carly Neeson set up Danica Kump from the right side of the box where she beat Kristen Barton for the 1-0 advantage.

Three minutes later Neeson and Kump pulled off an almost identical play as Kump eluded Barton with a quick shot to double the lead. The Cascades held a 2-0 lead at halftime.

Midway Into the second half Lee and Furukawa came in for the Dinos and it appeared to ignite the Calgary offence. In the 69th minute Lee gave the ball off to fellow first-year Amy Hockings who notched her first CIS marker to cut the deficit to 2-1.

“Nikki's natural pace and aggression helps,  Maddie just wants the ball, she wants to be at the center of things and the game really needed that, having them come on at that time after having some rest was great for us,” explained Sheppard.

Lee's playmaking ability made an impact once again in the second half when Calgary tied the score. The first-year striker Lee launched a pass from the right corner to the box for Lauren Vernon who beat Chantelle Biagioni to make it 2-2.

“I think the rest was good,” said Lee. “Coach rested some of the starters and I think that made us stronger towards the end”.

Fraser Valley outshot Calgary 13-6. Barton had eight saves for the Dinos, while Biagioni had two.

The Dinos hit the road next weekend as they head south to take on the Pronghorns in Lethbridge on Sept. 29.

-UC-