VICTORIA – The Dinos saw their 26-match unbeaten stretch in Canada West play snapped Saturday night in their final contest of the 2019 regular season, falling 2-1 at the hands of the Victoria Vikes.
The Dinos came out gunning early when
Maiya Lee centred the ball for the freshman
Rachel Barlow. The Calgary product picked her spot in the third minute and beat Puck Louwes in the top right corner for her second of the season.
Still pressing in the 10th minute,
Alison Pedersen looked for an early dagger when she drilled a shot from the middle of the field, roughly 25 yards out. Her attempt struck the right goal post.
Answering the call in the 25th, Kyra Teetzen gave a through ball up to the freshman Nikki Virk, who used some fancy footwork to corral the pass and fire a shot on net. The product of Surrey, B.C., sailed her shot just wide.
Rachel Baird was one of four Vikes playing their final game before graduating and she had a glorious opportunity to knot the game in the 32nd minute. The defender took a free kick to the left of the goal, cranked it over the wall but Dinos keeper
Lauren Houghton tipped it out of play with her fingertips.
The save resulted in a corner, which was taken by Teetzen. The Quesnel, B.C. native curled it in and found the head of Baird, who bounced it in past Houghton for her third of the season.
Looking to join in on the senior scoring spree was fellow fifth year Kiara Kilbey. She took a header four minutes into the second half on a cross from Brea Christie, but it trickled just wide.
She got rewarded minutes later after getting taken down in the box with a penalty kick. Houghton dove to the left as Kilbey lofted in her fifth of the season to the wide open right half of the net.
The Dinos had three consecutive corners in the 75th minute.
Sydney Gummerson sent a bouncing ball inches over the crossbar on the third corner from
Amy Mikuska, but Vikes keeper Puck Louwes remained in control and shut down each attempt as part of her four-save performance.
The Dinos (10-1-3) loss meant that they will finish as the No. 2 seed in the division and enjoy a bye into the quarter-finals, which they will host next weekend.
-30-
