Dinos’ playoff run ends as they fail to qualify for Nationals
By Maggie Hsu, November 4 2024—
It was Calgary versus British Columbia in the Final Four of the Canada West playoffs this past weekend. The Dinos’ women’s soccer team kicked off the tournament, welcoming their cross-Rocky Mountain rivals to their home turf on Friday afternoon against the Victoria Vikes. The Dinos entered this game as the top-seeded team in the CW Prairie Conference while the Vikes finished second in the Pacific behind the UBC Thunderbirds who wrapped up the season with a dominant 14-0 record.
Before Friday, the Dinos had not played the Vikes in over two years, marking an interesting matchup as the Dinos found themselves needing to feel out the visiting team for the first half of the game marked by an interesting choice by the coaching staff to not field top scorers Grace Moore and Isabella Burtini in the first half.
The pace of the game was noticeably slow in the opening minutes but the Vikes quickly ended that as they struck first with a goal by Taiya Scorey that snuck by Dinos goalie Katie French in the seventh minute. After this, the Dinos struggled to get their momentum back as opportunities from Rowyn James and Ella Djuranic did not find the back of the net, defended heavily by Vikes goalie, Kayley Lidstone.
Heading into halftime, the Dinos regrouped to try to regain control of the game.
They increased the pressure in the second half as their top scorer, Grace Moore subbed on and rookie scoring leader, Isabella Burtini stepped onto the field for the game. Moore made an immediate impact, shifting the tide for the Dinos as they made four attempts at defeating Lidstone as the Vikes’ final line of defense.
The Dinos were relentless at this point with three corner kicks in five minutes — the Vikes defense struggled to keep off the pressure from the Dinos. Marked by a yellow card by Victoria’s Sydney Casidy in the 64th minute, showing the Vikes’ desperation to push the play out of their defensive zone.
The ball would find the back of the net for the Dinos in the 71st minute but would ultimately be called back for an offside. This, unfortunately, was the closest the Dinos would get to evening the score as the final minutes of the game winded down and the constant barrage of shot attempts failed to beat Lidstone.
This loss marked Calgary’s first loss at home since 2021 but their chances at medalling and qualifying for the U SPORTS Championships are not all for nothing as they play for bronze. It will be a quick turnaround but Coach Diogo remains positive.
“I don’t think we played poorly in the first half; we just had some things to clean up in the second. We kind of just said we had nothing to lose, and we have to go for it; we just got unlucky enough to score.” Raposo said in an interview with the Dinos. “Tomorrow, we just have to play the way we ended the game today. If we start with that, I think we’re untouchable.”
Following the second semifinal game in which the UBC Thunderbirds continued their lossless season by defeating the Trinity Western Spartans, the final Bronze medal matchup was set. The Dinos would face the Spartans for the medal and a spot in the U SPORTS National Championships.
Despite finishing third in the Pacific Conference, the Spartans have historically been a tough opponent for the Dinos. With just a 6-20-8 record against Trinity Western, the Dinos would have a tough game ahead going into this critical match.
The Dinos took an early lead thanks to star rookie Isabella Burtini fed by Grace Moore. But this lead would only last for a few minutes as the Vikes tied it up in the 21st minute before taking a 2-1 lead in the final minutes of the first half.
Unlike the game 24 hours prior, the second half of the game was not as strong offensively as the Dinos struggled to bring back that pressure they had pushed on their previous opponents. But a fortunate bounce for Isabella DiPalma found the back of the net, evening up the score and keeping the Dinos’ hopes alive.
Sadly, the Dinos’ offensive woes came back as they could not find that game-winning goal and defensively, gave up the final goal of their season to Trinity Western which inevitably ended the Dinos’ playoff run for the 2024 season.
“I thought we were consistent, and I think we showed that in playoffs as well. We just need to ensure that when we get to these moments, we stay within ourselves and find ways to win, not just play good football,” said Dinos head coach Diogo Raposo in an interview with the Dinos.
This lesson will have to be the final message for the Dinos’ women’s soccer team as they say goodbye to their seniors and re-evaluate before kicking off the 2025 U SPORTS season next year.