CALGARY – Owen Antoniuk scored a hat trick before halftime to lead the University of Calgary Dinos men's soccer team to a 5-0 rout against the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades in a dominant showing at Dinosaur Field Sunday afternoon.

The win is the fourth in the last five games for the Dinos, who improve to 5-1-3 on the year, while the setback moves UFV to 5-3-2.

A quick start for the Dinos led to an early lead on the pitch, with Antoniuk tallying his first goal just six minutes into the game after receiving a long ball from defenseman Jacob Hunter.

Five minutes later, Efe Udolu-Joshua finished off a beautiful header from a chipped pass off the end line by Gianmarco Plenzik, making the score 2-0 for the Dinos. Following closely behind, Antoniuk netted his second of the game in the 17th minute from a corner kick that spun off the hands of the Cascades goaltender before finding the back of the net.

Antoniuk continued the Dinos goal-scoring barrage, once again beating the keeper as he deked through the Cascades defence after a pass from James Greco-Taylor. That gave Antoniuk a hat trick before halftime and skyrocketed him into a tie for the second-most goals in the nation so far this season with seven. It also marks the first hat trick for the Dinos since Dominic Russo netted three back on Sept. 24, 2016.

Following the 4-0 lead from the first half for the Dinos, the Cascades continued to push, looking for opportunities and openings to make their first mark on the scoreboard, but the Dinos stayed strong and continued to keep the ball out of their net. 

The Dinos struck again in the 81st minute thanks to a goal made by forward Dominic Anamali, who headed home a free kick from Antoniuk, finalizing the 5-0 shutout over the Cascades.

"I'm super happy" Antoniuk stated, regarding his hat trick. "Anytime we score five in a game, it's great. I like setting up the guys as well, so it was nice to get an assist in the end as well."

Dinos first-year head coach Ramon Mifflin shared in the excitement for the squad following the four-point weekend.

"I'm super proud of the boys," he said. "It was a great reaction after yesterday's tie. This was a very good performance against one of the better teams."

Calgary has just one game on the docket next weekend as they travel to crosstown rival Mount Royal for a Saturday evening showdown, scheduled for a 5 p.m. kickoff. 

Meanwhile, the Cascades will travel back home and have a week off before returning to action Oct. 4 against the Thompson Rivers WolfPack.

-UC-