EDMONTON – Third-year Makenna Van der Veen scored and added an assist to lead the Alberta Pandas to a 2-0 victory over the previously undefeated Calgary Dinos Sunday afternoon at Foote Field.

Van der Veen assisted an Adrienne Poulin 17th minute goal as well as scoring at the 45th minute as Alberta picked up their first win over the Dinos since September 2022. Calgary was held off the scoresheet for the first time this season, coming into the match as the Canada West leader in scoring, already having picked up 21 goals in their previous three games.

With the win, the Pandas move to 2-2-0 with a weekend sweep, moving them into the top four in the division. Calgary drops to 3-1-0 and could drop out of first pending the Saskatchewan Huskies result against Manitoba Sunday afternoon.

Autumn Wynn played well between the sticks for the Pandas, making all six saves for her first clean sheet of the year as Calgary was still dangerous in the match, outshooting the hosts 10-4 (6-2 on target). 

The Pandas picked up where they left off offensively in yesterday's game, as after soaking up some early Dinos pressure Makenna Van der Veen made a great run from midfield and found a sprinting Poulin who beat keeper Anna Demarbre with a dribble and tucked it home for her second of the campaign to give the hosts an early lead.

The rest of the half would be relatively quiet until the second minute of stoppage time where Van der Veen scored an early contender for goal of the year. She took the ball from just outside her own box and made a phenomenal run down the field, dribbling past three Dinos along the way and finished with a great left-footed strike for her second goal to give the Alberta Pandas a 2-0 lead into the half. This was the first Calgary half in the early season where they were held scoreless in the first 45.

The second half had decidedly less bite than the first, with some scoring chances coming but neither team able to capitalize. The best opportunity came from the boot of Dinos sub Rowyn James who had a cross come right to her feet, but Autumn Wynn clocked it the whole way for one of her best saves on the day. Despite some Dinos pressure near the end of the match, the Pandas would hold on for the huge 2-0 rivalry victory.

Alberta travels to Manitoba next weekend to take on the Wesmen and Bisons, while the Dinos return home to take on Regina and Saskatchewan.

-UC-