CALGARY – Following a thrilling 3-2 win with a stoppage-time goal in their opening postseason contest, the University of Calgary Dinos women's soccer team is off to the Canada West Final Four, starting Friday in Vancouver.
 
The Dinos will square off against top-seeded, No. 1 ranked, and host UBC Friday with a 6 p.m. MT kickoff scheduled from Thunderbird Stadium.
 
Calgary will play either Trinity Western or Thompson Rivers on Saturday at either 6 p.m. or 9 p.m. MT, depending on the outcomes of the semifinal games.
 
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
 
1. How We Got Here – The Dinos turned in an impressive 9-3-2 record in the regular season to finish third in the Canada West Pacific Division with 29 points – just one point shy of second place. In their postseason opener at Alberta, the Dinos flipped a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead late only to see the Pandas tie it back up. But, Sofia DiGiacomo headed home the game-winner in stoppage time to send the Scarlet & Gold to the Final Four.
 
2. Matchup History – While the Thunderbirds do hold the lead in the overall series with the Dinos, Calgary and UBC have been incredibly even head-to-head in recent years. In fact, the Dinos have won four of the last six matchups, including a 3-2 thriller at Dinosaur Field back on Sept. 25 this season – the lone loss for the T-Birds all season.
 
The two teams have also had plenty of recent postseason history. Calgary beat UBC in 2019 to claim their latest Canada West Championship before meeting again just eight days later in the national championship, where the T-Birds won, 1-0. The Dinos also posted a 2-1 win in the series in the 2018 CW Final Four.
 
3. Postseason History – The Dinos are pursuing their third Canada West title this weekend, with the first two coming back in 2005 and 2019. The Scarlet & Gold have had several deep postseason runs of late. In addition to the 2019 season, they have advanced to nationals three times in the last seven seasons, also doing so in 2015 and 2018.
 
4. Barlow Setting A High Bar – Dinos third-year forward Rachel Barlow has been one of the clear leaders for her team this season, not only on the field but also in the stat columns. The local product finished the regular season with a U SPORTS-best 11 assists on the season. Her 17 total points also rank her fourth in all of Canada, and her three game-winning goals also crack the top-10 nationally, tying her for eighth. The Calgary native continued her dominance in the playoff opener, getting the Dinos on the board in the 29th minute before assisting on goals in the 72nd and 90th+5 in the thrilling 3-2 win over Alberta in the CW Quarter-final.
 
5. Hey Now, You're An All-Star – Four Dinos were named to the Canada West All-Star teams last week. Rachel Barlow earned first-team honours after amassing six goals and a U SPORTS-high 11 assists in the regular season. Sofia DiGiacomo was named a second-teamer after racking up four goals and two assists from the back in conference play. And Erica Mysko and Mykena Walker were both selected to the conference's all-rookie squad, as Mysko tallied five goals and two assists, while Walker added one goal and three assists as a wing back.
 
-UC-