Horns clinch a playoff spot

Despite a loss on Sunday, the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns women’s soccer team is off to the Canada West post season.

Capping off a two-day swing through B.C. the Horns were blanked 1-0 by the UBCO Heat in Kelowna.

However, with the Winnipeg Wesmen’s scoreless draw with the UNBC Timberwolves, the Pronghorns (4-6-2) are seven points ahead of the Wesmen and can’t be caught during the final weekend of the season.

But on Sunday, the Pronghorns faced a tenacious Heat squad.

“We lost 1-0 to a very determined UBCO team in the first half,” said Pronghorns head caoch Fred Trinh. “We didn’t play the game we wanted to play in the first half, but we adjusted in the second half.”

A goal by the Heat’s Kylie Walker in the 28th minute was the sole offence of the game.

Pronghorns goaltender Micaela Stone stopped five of the six shots she faced, making an impressive stop eight minutes in when she made a diving save to her right to deny a free kick from a little over 20 yards out.

But the Horns didn’t have an answer going the other way en route to the loss.

“At the end of the day we have to re-evaluate and re-examine and go from there,” said Trinh. “Hopefully we can do better next weekend to cap off our season.”

The Pronghorns wrap up their regular season at the University of Lethbridge this weekend when they host the Alberta Pandas Saturday and the Mount Royal Cougars Sunday.

Game time is noon on both days.

On the men’s side, the Pronghorns wrapped up their season with a loss, but nonetheless went out guns blazing in a 4-3 loss to the Calgary Dinos Sunday afternoon in Calgary.

Playing under blustery conditions for a second time in as many days, the Horns outchanced, but couldn’t quite outscore the Dinos to take the loss that wraps up their season at 2-10-2.

Playing in his final game as a Pronghorn alongside fellow fifth-year veteran Curtis Contenti, Dominique Point du Jour put an exclamation point on his career with a goal and an assist in Sunday’s game.

Pronghorns head coach Randy Bardock said the rest of his team was geared up to give the two veterans a proper sendoff.

“Very much,” he said. “They’re two very wellrespected guys who have put a great deal of time and effort into the program and they were both great today in their game. The guys really wanted to send them out on a good note and I think we got back to some of the basic principles we’ve preached and I thought that really showed well today.”

The Dinos jumped out to a 2-0 lead by the 30minute mark before the Horns came gunning back.

Point du Jour got things going with his fourth of the season to make it 2-1 Calgary at the half before Mike Weigle struck early in the second half for Lethbridge to tie it.

“We started out a little slow,” said Bardock. “They scored about eight minutes in. But I thought we really started doing the things we needed to. We scored right before the half and early in the

second half to make it 22.”

The Dinos went up 4-3 in the 57th minute, but Pronghorn Andrew Primeau’s first of the year tied it up roughly five minutes later.

But the hosts buried the final goal for the winner.

“They scored to make it 4-3 with about seven minutes to go,” said Bardock. “We had a clear breakaway to tie it and missed. We had much better scoring opportunities than them, we just came out on the short end.

“We made a couple of mistakes at the back that cost us,” said Bardock. “But I thought we moved the ball around really well, especially in the second half. We really created some very good chances. We changed our formation at the half and that seemed to create some additional things for us. I loved the fight and the spirit. It was kind of a nothing game, but they really wanted to show some things. I thought that was great.”