REGINA – Calgary's Ella Djuranic scored the winner in the second half as the No. 9 University of Calgary Dinos women's soccer team posted a 3-2 win over the Regina Cougars on Sunday afternoon in an entertaining Canada West match at the U of R Field.

Calgary had the wind advantage in the first half, but it was Regina that struck first. Kirsten Koellmel had her initial shot blocked, but the ball went right to Emma Lowe who put it into the far corner of the net to give the Cougars the lead in the 14th minute.

Regina's lead didn't last long. Following a Calgary corner kick in the 17th minute, the ball bounced to Brooklyn Colvin and the fourth-year defender flicked a shot over the outstretched hand of Cougars keeper Kareena Andersen.

The Dinos took the lead in the 34th minute on one of the goals of the year. Kaleigh Major stepped into a free kick from distance and struck it perfectly, putting it just under the bar to put the visitors up 2-1.

Calgary took the one-goal advantage into halftime, but Regina tied it up again in the 51st minute. Koellmel sent a long ball up towards Lennox Lockhurst which evaded a pair of Dinos. Lockhurst was left with a wide-open net and tapped in her fourth goal of the season.

Djuranic's game-winning goal came in the 61st minute. Andersen made a brilliant save from in tight off Djuranic following a pass into the box. The ball went back to Djuranic who had her next shot blocked by Regina defender Makenna Sackmann, but Djuranic was finally able to knock it into the open net on her third attempt.

The win moves the Dinos to 8-1-1 on the year, remaining tied with MacEwan for the top spot in the Canada West Prairie Division with four games left to play. 

The Cougars got no help on the out-of-town scoreboard on Sunday as Saskatchewan thumped Lethbridge 7-0 and Alberta cruised to a 4-0 win over Winnipeg. Regina sits six points back of Saskatchewan for the final postseason berth in the division, but the Cougars remain in full control of their playoff destiny with two matches against Saskatchewan upcoming next weekend.

Meanwhile, the Dinos return to Calgary for three of their final four of the year, starting Friday when Lethbridge comes to campus for a 4:30 p.m. start time.

-UC-