Soccersaurs draw a complete blank

By Kris Kotarski

The following quote is from the Canadian Interuniversity Sport Web site. It’s a women’s soccer press release written by the University of Saskatchewan propaganda department.

"The women’s team, fresh off a
5-0 victory over the Lethbridge Pronghorns, has to settle for 0-0 tie with the Dinos."

Has to settle for a 0-0 tie? First, we’ll assume they meant "had to settle." This error is understandable with the lack of textbooks at the University of Saskatchewan campus. Due to frequent book burnings, we’ll excuse poor syntax and grammar by our dolt chums from the land of the living skies.

Second, what the hell are they thinking? Settle for a 0-0 tie? Settling is a luxury only the better team gets to have. The Dutch national team, for example, would settle for a tie with Andorra if Dutch soccer ever hit that particular low.

The Huskies are lucky to come out with their tails intact. These are the undefeated Dinos. These are the same Dinos who "deatholized" Regina 15-0 over two games last weekend. These are the same Dinos who still have not given up a goal this season. Settled? The Huskies are lucky they survived.

With that out of the way, let’s recap the Dinos weekend. Their regularly scheduled appearance at the University of Alberta on Fri., Sept. 14, was cancelled. The reason was twofold. First, it was the National Day of Mourning for the victims of terrorist attacks in the U.S. Second, Dinos’ star goalie Taryn Swiatek was unavailable for the game due to international matches scheduled for the weekend. While the players didn’t mind the decision to postpone the game, some were frustrated with the extensive travel.

"We understood it was a day of mourning," said Dinos’ defender Erin Ramsay. "But it’s frustrating to travel three days for one game."

Apparently, the Dinos found out they would not play when they were already in Edmonton waiting for kickoff. While the Alberta game will be made up at a later date, the Sun., Sept. 16 contest against the Huskies went ahead. The teams battled to a 0-0 draw and it was the Dinos who had to "settle for a tie."

"We didn’t get enough shots on net," explained Ramsay. "They were a little better than we expected."

Next for the Dinos is a weekend homestand against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds and the University of Victoria Vikes–two teams the Dinos will not underestimate.

"We’re totally looking forward to it," said Ramsay. "We’re pumped to play UBC and U of Vic."

G-G-G-Goal Notes:

The Dinos enter the weekend ranked second in the nation. The Huskies are fifth while the Vikes hold down the 10th spot.

Forward Hema Chengkalath made her debut against the U of S after missing the beginning of the season with a hip injury.

According to Head Coach Robin "Slot Machine" Slot, keeper Taryn Swiatek has now faced one shot this season and has three shutouts.

Games go on Sat., Sept. 22 against the Vikes and Sun., Sept. 23 against the T-birds. Both games are at noon at Foothills Athletic Park.

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