Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Battling fierce wind gusts that bent passes off target and a physical Calgary Dinos team that scored early, the MacEwan Griffins rallied for their first result of the Canada West season with the equalizer in the 83rd minute to salvage a 1-1 draw on Sunday.
Half-time sub Abass (Tobie) Ajibade headed Stefan Gajic's corner kick past Calgary goalkeeper Jake Ruschkowski for MacEwan's first goal of the campaign.
"It was nice getting one off a set piece," said Griffins head coach Adam Loga. "It's something that we've struggled with in the past, so it's nice to get one the first weekend."
The third-year veteran Ajibade was able to carve out a spot for himself in the middle of the box, anchoring strong against a very physical Dinos squad that was whistled for 19 fouls in the contest, and found glory.
"I think the two (career) goals he has scored, if I'm not mistaken, are both on corner kicks and both against the Dinos, so maybe it's just his thing," laughed Loga. "He's got some good physicality to him. Most importantly, he's got that will and hunger to try and win those battles."
You couldn't blame the Dinos if they were disappointed to not get more than a point after they led 1-0 on a 20th minute tally by Kundai Dziwa, who took a cross from Derek Brust, juked a defender and tucked it inside the right post past MacEwan goalkeeper Josh Stayko.
But Stayko refused to be beaten again, turning in an inspired seven-save performance that included dealing with wind gusts that sent the ball into squirrely mode.
A long bomb off the boot of Calgary's Gianmarco Plenzik in the 49th minute did just that, catching a gust, which forced MacEwan's keeper to leap backwards and just get a piece of the ball.
"That one was going over my head – a lot of wind definitely carried it a bit – but after getting a couple fingers to it I pushed it off the bar," said Stayko, who finished with 16 saves during MacEwan's home-opening weekend after stopping nine in a 3-0 loss to Mount Royal University on Saturday.
Josh Stayko made seven saves to help the Griffins salvage a 1-1 draw with the Calgary Dinos on Sunday (Rebecca Chelmick photo).
That type of production harkens back to what Dylan Powley had to face in the program's early Canada West years before going on to a pro career.
"He's a warrior," said Loga of 5-foot-9 Sherwood Park native Stayko, who is in his second season with the Griffins. "I say it time and time again … everyone underestimates him because of his size, but what he lacks in size, he makes up for in heart.
"Josh has been great for us and great in the locker-room, too. Kudos to Darryl (Kaluzniak), our goalkeeper coach, for keeping him sharp."
Calgary outshot MacEwan 18-9 (8-4 on goal), but settled for the draw.
Loga noted the Griffins will take some lessons out of the contest as they continue to aim for their first win of the season.
"We always want to get three (points)," he said. "I thought we were a little bit slow out of the gate. We weren't really managing the game as well as we would have liked. But at the end of the day, we came out at half and reorganized some things. The subs came in and made a difference.
"We need to understand, too, that there are two lads in our back four who are rookies. It's their first weekend. We have to expect some of these hiccups, but hopefully with the staff we can plan a bit better moving forward."
Next action for the Griffins is a road trip south to face the Lethbridge Pronghorns on Sept. 2 (5 p.m, Canada West TV).
