CALGARY – Down a goal just six minutes in, the University of Calgary Dinos men's soccer team rallied to beat the MacEwan University Griffins 2-1 on Sunday at McMahon Stadium.
Calgary controlled possession early but found itself down in the sixth minute after a turnover near its own box gave the Griffins an opening. Ali Yildiz capitalized on the mistake, finishing off an assist from Abhiroop Sandhu to put MacEwan in front and shift momentum in the visitors' favour.
Calgary kept pushing after going down early, and the persistence paid off. The Dinos found the equalizer in the 18th minute, as pressure in the Griffins' end forced an own goal that brought the game level at 1-1.
Three minutes later, Calgary flipped the match. Rookie
Josiah Walter buried a penalty kick in the 22nd minute to put the Dinos ahead 2-1. It marked his second goal of the season, with Walter having also scored against the Griffins a week earlier in Edmonton.
Dinos head coach
Ramon Mifflin pointed to the rookie's growing influence on the attack.
"It's nice to have a technician and a dynamic player like Josiah step into our program," Mifflin said.
MacEwan came out strong after halftime, controlling possession as it searched for an equalizer, but Calgary's defence held firm. Adam Solikowski shot wide in the 65th minute and Doruk Yilmaz did the same in the 83rd, while Benjamin Thiel's header in the 86th minute was turned away by
Hany Shafie. Calgary nearly extended its lead in the 80th minute, but MacEwan goalkeeper Kaleb Lutz came up with a save.
The Griffins continued to press into stoppage time, but the Dinos refused to break, surviving several late corners to preserve the 2-1 win.
With the win, the Dinos improve to 3-2 in conference play, while MacEwan drops to 0-4 on the year.
The Dinos will return to action Saturday, Sept. 19, when they host the Saskatchewan Huskies at Cohos Commons Field at SAIT, kicking off at 2 p.m.
MacEwan will travel to face the Mount Royal University Cougars on Saturday, Sept. 19.
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