MRU 2014 Annual Cross Bar Challenge

On a side note:  the administrators of this blog would like to take this opportunity to apologize for the lost 2013 Crossbar Challenge Video.  Until it is found, we cannot verify any winners of that event at this time. 

On a rare day off due to team photos, mid-season, the squad took to the training field, sporting it's navy long sleeve kit.

With no official warmup or trial kicks rather opting for a few tosses of the american pig skin around the pitch, we were all left to our own technical abilities.  (Arms out for balance, plant foot, foot firm a strong wind to the left for many {okay, there was no wind on this day; and a little banter)

Miss Deeks takes the event to a whole new level with her final entrance as she has officially graduated from the event....or is there some coaching ability in her yet....

Unfortunately, due to a jump in the sequence by Mrs. Peters - she has been disqualified from the event by the judges after reviewing the video replay thus no prizes will be distributed this season and the title of crossbar master will continue into the 2015 season.

It was unfortunate for the rookie assistant coach this season but she should pay attention to the rules.   Better luck next year.

COUGARS FACE ADVERSITY IN WEEKEND NUMBER TWO

#Adversity or #Anniversary: From celebrating 20 years of Cougar women’s soccer, to battling the elements and practicing indoors in a small gym, these two words are the best ways to describe the Cougar’s season so far.

Coming off a win and a tie in a sunny and +25 opening weekend at home, the following week found Calgary buried under a foot of snow... leaving Cougar coaching staff scrambling to find indoor practice space. With less than ideal preparation the team embarked on the long bus ride to Saskatoon, hoping that determination and heart would be enough to achieve some success.

On Saturday the University of Saskatchewan Huskies proved to be a very skilled team, beating the Cougars 4-0. Hoping the kinks in their play had been left behind in Saskatoon, the girls shook it off, heads held high going into Sunday’s match against the University of Regina Cougars.

With the game plan in hand, the battle of the Cougars began. MRU started the game with good pressure up top and some chances on goal. It was still early in the game when a poorly cleared corner kick allowed the Regina team to get up on the board 1-0. Unfortunately it was downhill from there. The lone goal for the Cougars was scored by Kelsey Kinzner later in the second half, but the damage was done, resulting in a 6-1 loss for MRU.

Film will be analyzed and the team will reflect on their play, with the goal of addressing what exactly went wrong, in hopes of answering the questions: What will the teams identity be? How are they going to respond?

The third weekend of the season will have the Cougars up against the University of Alberta Golden Bears in Edmonton this coming weekend for their first duplicate opponent matches after the restructuring of CIS West.

Perhaps the most annoying challenge will be sharing a bus with the MRU men’s soccer team as they too will be traveling to Edmonton (hopefully Taylor Lamb remembers the Febreze).

Blog by fifth year Donella Lockhart.

COUGARS GO UNDEFEATED IN FIRST WEEKEND

Calgary – The Mount Royal Cougars started the year off with a huge offensive outburst defeating the Lethbridge Pronghorns 3-1 at MRU Stadium field.

The Cougars came out firing as they peppered Lethbridge's keeper Myriah Mariano early and often. The Cougars let off six shots at Mariano but she stood tall, keeping the score 0-0.

In the 16th minute Lehtbridge turned over the ball to the Cougar's top offensive player Kelsey Kinzer. Mariano made the first save but Kinzner stayed with it, collected her rebound and tapped the ball into the empty net.

Lethbridge answered in the 30th minute as Kayla Blacquiere was able to arc one over the Cougar's keeper from outside the box to tie the game at one. The score would remain tied until half time.

Mount Royal dominated possession throughout the second half. In the 76th minute the Cougars added the go ahead goal. Kinzner drew all the defenders over to her and then threw a nice touch pass over to rookie Emily Sands who made no mistake and gave Mount Royal a 2-1 lead.

Briana Kiel added another goal to give the Cougars a 3-1 lead and that is how it wrapped up.

With the win, Mount Royal moves to 1-0-0 on the season, while Lethbridge drops 0-1-0.

Calgary – The first installment of the 2014-15 Crowchild Classic between the Mount Royal Cougars and the Calgary Dinos ends in a 0-0 draw.

The Cougars were coming off a huge 3-1 win in their home opener against the Lethbridge Pronghorns. Calgary was also 1-0-0 after defeating the Alberta Golden Bears 2-0 yesterday in Edmonton.

The Cougars knew they would be in tough on Sunday after Calgary's defeat of the third ranked team in the nation. The Cougars came out fearlessly, going hard into tackles and coming out with the ball.

Calgary had the majority of the scoring chances but the Cougar's defence bent but didn't break. Defenders Riley Medd and Reghan Zilkie stood tall against the Dino's attack. Cougar's goalkeeper Janelle Chicilo made six big saves to keep the game scoreless.

The Cougars had a chance to go ahead in the 73rd minute when rookie Emily Sands, who was coming off her first Canada West goal yesterday, went for a loose ball and end up colliding hard with the Dino's keeper. The play warranted a caution against Sands but both players were able to shake it off and remain in the game.

The tie gives both the Cougars and Dinos a record of 1-0-1 on the season.

Calgary will have a quick turnaround, hosting Lethbridge on Thursday evening. Mount Royal will head to Saskatchewan next weekend for dates with the Huskies and the Cougars.

After the game, Mount Royal President Dr. David Docherty and Athletic Director Karla Karch completed the ALS ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE.

The game also marked 20 years of Cougars women's soccer.



Via MRU Cougars