The University of Calgary Dinos kicked off their final homestand of the season with a dominant 2-0 victory over the UNBC Timberwolves at Dinosaur Field on Saturday afternoon.
Montana Leonard potted her ninth goal of the campaign, tying her for the lead in Canada West, to open the scoring and later set up Rachel Barlow’s first as a Dino for the insurance marker.
With the win, the Dinos regain first place in the Pacific Division with a record of 9-0-2. UNBC drops under .500, falling to 3-4-4.
The Dinos dominated possession in the first half, led by their backline of Amy Mikuska, Talia White, Damiane Sawatzky, and Maiya Lee, who only allowed two shot attempts all afternoon by UNBC.
“They are organized and there is some great leadership back there,” said Dinos assistant coach Diogo Raposo. “Teams do not get many shots, and when they do, we have Lauren back there to help us out.”
The Dinos’ patience and strong play on their half of the field led to their opening goal in the 41st minute. With a series of well-played passes, Calgary got the ball into the feet of their top scoring threat Leonard, who broke through the UNBC defence for the tally.
The second half brought much of the same for the Timberwolves as the frustrating Calgary defence shut down any chance of UNBC making a comeback. The dagger came from a lob pass swung in from Leonard to Barlow, who put it off the fingertips of goalkeeper Brooke Molby for the first goal of her university soccer career.
Calgary ‘keeper Lauren Houghton posted her seventh shutout of the season without having to make a save.
The Dinos and Timberwolves will battle again on Sunday afternoon with game time set for 12 p.m.