CALGARY – Flurries, a relocation, and a delayed start could not stop the University of Calgary Dinos men's soccer team on Saturday night.
The Dinos scored a season-high five goals at McMahon Stadium to defeat the MacEwan Griffins 5-0. Calgary improves to 5-5-3 and clinches third place in the Prairie Division.
"We came out strong and honestly, MacEwan has proven to be a tough opponent for a long time, and we finally came out," said Dinos team captain
Eryk Kobza – who finished the match with two assists. "We knew we needed some points to secure third spot. We focused on ourselves, and we moved towards our goal."
The loss drops the Griffins to 3-7-3 and makes Sunday's matchup against the nationally-ranked Mount Royal Cougars a must-win for them to make playoffs.
"We needed form going into the playoffs and it is good to get a big win like this and guys build confidence with goals," added Kobza.
Calgary wasted little time making their mark with two goals within the first 15 minutes.
William Omoreniye was the first to strike, followed minutes later by
Decklin Mahmi.
The Dinos extended their lead to 3-0 in the 31st minute when
James Greco-Taylor finished off a play that started with a free kick he performed.
Omoreniye netted the fourth Calgary goal in the 52nd minute, and minutes later MacEwan went down a man following the second yellow card of the game to Abass Ajibade.
Moments after coming into the game as a substitution,
Nicolas Kostiw rounded out the scoring with a goal from in close in the 85th minute.
Kobza is one of five graduating Dinos who will be recognized on Sunday in the Dinos' final game of the regular season.
"It has been a quick four years. It feels like just yesterday I was starting out as a rookie, but I like where the team is going and am looking forward to playoffs and making something happen," he shared.
In another game that was originally scheduled for Dinosaur Field, the Dinos will now hit the turf at McMahon Stadium at 3 p.m. on Sunday. That game will be followed by the Griffins facing the Cougars at 5:30 p.m.