EDMONTON - The University of Calgary Dinos men's soccer team saw its playoff dreams come to a disappointing end Saturday afternoon, losing 3-1 to the UBC Thunderbirds at Foote Field in Edmonton.
 
In a battle between the top offensive and defensive teams in the Canada West Division, it was the Thunderbirds' defence and opportunistic offence that came out on top.
 
The Dinos had the first early scoring chance in the game with Leonarda Culina setting up Jorge Leon Gomez in the third minute. UBC goalie Chad Bush slowed the Gomez' shot enough for  a UBC defender to clear it before a Calgary striker could pounce on the rebound. Shortly after, Culina had his own quality scoring chance, but skied it over the crossbar from just outside the box.
 
UBC would tighten up defensively after these initial opportunities for the Dinos, preventing any other serious scoring threat for the rest of the half.
 
Following a couple corners, the Thunderbirds opened the scoring in the 17^th minute. Brothers Jules and Titouan Chopin teamed up, with Jules finding a streaking Tituoan on a partial breakaway, who chipped it by keeper Hunter Brett on the far post.
 
UBC continued their attack, adding another marker in the 30^th minute. This time it was Titouan Chopin setting up Manpal Brar. Chopin was just able to keep the ball in bounds, sending a pass through a Calgary defender's legs to the wide open Brar, who easily found the back of the net to give his team a 2-0 lead.
 
The Dinos would be dealt a significant blow right before halftime, as leading scorer Dominic Russo was subbed off due to injury. "We definitely missed a fully fit Russo," said Head Coach Brendan O'Connell. "That didn't help us with him not being 100%".
 
UBC essentially put the game away in the 57^th minute, after Tituoan Chopin fed the ball up to Zach Verhoven, who blew past his man, converting on a sharp angle strike.
 
Calgary finally got on the scoreboard in the 68^th minute when second half sub Bryce Connors was able to find a slight hole in the Thunderbird's defence and chip it over Bush into the back of the net. Cristiano De Carvalho would be credited with an assist on Connors' goal.
 
That was all the Dinos could muster in this one, as an offside call negated a second goal that could have made the finish to this game a nailbiter.
 
Coach O'Connell's summed the game up, "Early on we had some glorious chances and we just didn't convert them. Obviously, as time goes on, they're going to get some chances of their own and they took them."
 
While not the result the team was looking for, O'Connell said there are some silver linings to take away from the season. "We're all really proud of the boys; we couldn't have asked any more from them. We've gone a step further than we did last year and I take that as a positive. We brought in some amazing rookies; we played three rookies today, so the program is in good shape and this season, in my mind, was a success"
 
With the loss, the Dinos have been eliminated from playoff contention. They will play for a Canada West Bronze medal tomorrow at 11 am at Foote Field.