Courtesy of Calgary Dinos Sports Information

CALGARY - The Dinos womens' soccer team opened their season with a convincing 3-1 win over their crosstown rivals, the Mount Royal Cougars, on Saturday September 12 at West Varsity field.

Goals from the Dinos came from third-year midfielder Maddie Lee, fourth-year transfer Mollee Ramsay and second-year forward Maddison Fritze.  Fourth-year midfielder Kelsey Kinzner scored the lone tally for the Cougars.

The win keeps the Dinos undefeated at home in league play since 2013.

With the Dinos playing their first four games at home this season, head coachTroye Flannery says the season schedule works to their advantage.

"This is a difficult place for teams to come play," Flannery said. "I've started calling it 'Jurassic Park.' The intent is to make it difficult here and we plan on keeping it that way."

Despite an early high press from the Dinos, it was the Cougars who struck first. A poor give-away from the Dinos' defence left Kinzner on a breakaway in the 6th minute. Kinzner rounded Dinos keeper Samantha Chang-Foidl, before calmly slotting the ball into an empty net to put the away side up 1-0.

The Dinos responded quickly however, winning a penalty shot in the 15th minute. The Dinos worked their way into the Cougars' zone, before Lee was brought down just inside the Cougars' 18 yard box. Lee stepped up to take the penalty herself, putting the ball into the top right corner to level the score.

Both teams would have their share of chances in the first half, but it was the Dinos with the majority of the possession. Dinos captain Lauren Vernon and Ramsay bossed the midfield for the home side, dictating the pace of play.

"[Ramsay] stepped right in, massive part of the team and she really performed today," Flannery said.

Although they had less of the ball, the Cougars had a great chance to pull ahead before the half. A through-ball from second year midfielder Navroop Virk put forward Hailey Lafave through on goal, but the second year lifted her shot over the bar. 

The second half saw strong attacking performances from the Dinos offense. Lee and Ramsay continued to impress in the midfield, while forwards Jordan Smithand Maddison Fritze peppered the Cougars' with a series of attempts. Smith would finish the game with a game-high six shots. The Dinos would finish with 21 shots in total, the majority of which were in the second half.

Although they spent most of the half defending, the Cougars had a chance to pull ahead with a freekick in the 70th minute. Fifth year midfielder Kelsey Kinzner bent the ball nicely around the Dinos' wall, but her shot went just wide. It was one of just four shots from the Cougars.

If anything, the close call seemed to wake the Dinos up. A few minutes later, the home side registered four shots on goal within a two minute spell. Their closest chance came in the 77th minute, with Smith powering a header from close range off the post.

The Dinos finally got their go-ahead goal in the 83rd minute. A corner kick from Lee was whipped into in towards the Cougars' back post, where it was knocked in by Ramsay to make the score 2-1. 

Despite being down, the Cougars didn't attack much in the last minutes of the game. In fact, it was the Dinos who looked likely to add to their tally. Cougars' second year keeper Meghan Prudhomme was forced to make a great reflex save in the 87th minute, parrying a shot from Fritze out for a Dinos' corner kick.

Fritze would get her goal eventually however. A defence-splitting through-ball from Lee found Smith on the left, whose cross was bundled in from the goal line by the second year forward. Fritze's goal was the last kick of the game, as the referee blew to end the match immediately afterwards. 

The Dinos' season continues tomorrow against the Grant MacEwan Griffins. The game kicks off at 12:00 at West Varsity field. Flannery said his team's focus for tomorrow will be to improve their finishing.

"I'm A little disappointed with the quality of our finishing today, but we got the job done late," Flannery said. "But we have to be tidier in the final third and we will be. That has to be the mindset, so that's what we're going to look to do."