CALGARY – Coming off the most successful season in program history, which saw a second place finish in Canada West and fifth-place at nationals, the University of Calgary women's soccer team is set to open their 2019-20 Canada West campaign with games against UBC Okanagan and Thompson Rivers.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday night followed by a noon start on Saturday. Dinosaur Field will play host to both games, and CanadaWest.tv presented by Co-op will have streaming coverage.

ALL STAR SELECTIONS
After a record setting season, the Dinos were recognized for their success in 2018. Calgary led the conference with six all-star team selections. Goalkeeper Lauren Houghton, who set the CW single-season record for clean sheets (11) and wins (13), was named a first team all-star along with defenders Talia White and Kayla Kreutzer as well as forwards Montana Leonard and senior Maddison Fritze. Calgary also saw some production from their new recruits with first year forward Sofia Mondaca cracking the all-rookie team.

MOVE TO PACIFIC DIVISION
The Dinos will be making the transition to the Pacific Division for the upcoming two seasons to balance out the divisions in Canada West. The Dinos will be paired up with Prince George's UNBC as a travel partner for the year.

FLANNERY UWS COACH OF THE YEAR
Dinos head coach Troye Flannery took home his fair share of hardware after the season, being named the U SPORTS Coach of the Year, the first Dinos coach to receive the award. He also picked up the United Women's Soccer (UWS) West Coach of the Year for the third consecutive year this summer, leading Calgary Foothills WFC to their second of back-to-back conference championships.

AMONG THE FAVOURITES
The Dinos received four first-place votes from the Canada West coaches in the annual preseason poll, finishing third with 204 points. Defending champion Trinity Western is ranked first, with UBC just two points ahead of the Dinos at No. 2. Nationally, the Dinos come in at No. 7 in the inaugural U SPORTS rankings of the season, trailing only second-ranked Trinity Western among Canada West schools.

SCOUTING REPORT
vs UBC OKANAGAN HEAT
Match Info Thursday, Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. – Dinosaur Field 
2018 Record 3-9-2, tied for 7th in Pacific Division 
2018 Top Scorers Jessica Ambrosio, Ally Ferronato, Kylee Walker – 2 goals

NOTES

• The Heat enter the season ranked 12th in CW by the conference's 16 coaches
• UBCO scored just 10 goals in 2018 while allowing 29, missing the playoffs
• Third-year midfielder Erica Lampert is the team's leader
• The Dinos are 2-0 against UBCO all-time, with 6-2 and 3-1 wins. The teams haven't met since the 2017 season.

vs THOMPSON RIVERS WOLFPACK
Match Info Saturday, Sept. 7 at 12 p.m. – Dinosaur Field
2018 Record 3-9-2, tied for 7th in Pacific Division
2018 Top Scorer Chantal Gammie – 7 goals

NOTES

• The WolfPack comes into the season ranked 14th of the 16 teams in Canada West 
• TRU struggled on both sides of the ball in 2018, averaging just a goal per game while giving up 32 tallies in the 14-game schedule
• The Dinos are 2-0 all-time against the WolfPack and have yet to give up a goal, picking up 10-0 and 4-0 wins in 2016 and 2017, respectively.

UP NEXT
The Dinos head to Saskatchewan next weekend for a two game set. The team will be in Regina on Saturday, Sept. 14 before heading to Saskatoon for a date with the Huskies on Sunday, Sept. 15.