Men sweep, women split

It was back on the road for the Cougars men's and women's soccer teams as they headed down the highway for a pair of road games versus the Lakeland Rustlers and Red Deer Kings/Queens.

Women

The Cougar women embarked on a two-game road trip this weekend, taking down the Lakeland Rustlers on Saturday by a score of 4-0 before dropping a closely contested affair 2-1 to the Red Deer Queens.

The Rustlers and Cougars played a tightly contested first half Saturday, with the Cougars leading 1-0 at the end of 45 minutes. Ultimately the Cougar bench would prove to be too deep as they scored three more in the second half to put it out of reach.  Karlee Hodl eneded the match with two goals, as did teammate Lesley Oosterhoff.

Ainsley Cardoso-Wagner played a solid game for the Cougs, who moved to 2-0 on the season.

Sunday’s game against the Queens started well enough for the Cougars, but the Queens capitalized on a couple Cougar mistakes in the second half, scoring two quick goals, which would be all they’d need. Donella Lockhart scored the Cougars’ lone goal as they dropped their first game of the season.

The Cougars’ home opener will be this Saturday at noon, where they will face the Medicine Hat Rattlers. Come cheer on your lady Cougars! 
Men

The Cougar men’s soccer team was back in action this weekend, and took a pair of wins on the road against two tough opponents in the Lakeland Rustlers and the Red Deer Kings.

The Cougars played their brand of soccer this weekend, starting with solid play at the back that led to some creativity up front. They downed the Rustlers 4-1 behind two goals from both Caden Sawatzky and Sean Colvin. The Cougars used their speed and physical play to stymie the Rustlers, and rookie Jeff Blake won Player of the Game honours for his inspired play in the midfield. Blake was a constant aggressor, winning battles on the defensive end and providing a constant spark on offense.

Goalkeeper David Thalheimer was solid in net , allowing the Rustlers’ lone goal to forward Braydon Bretzer.

Sunday’s game proved to be a tougher challenge, but it helped showcased what the Cougars hope to be known for this season: their defense. In a very physical, fast-paced game where no side was willing to give the other an inch, it was the Kings’ armour that cracked first, as Sean Burchill was able to redirect a Jamie MacDonald free kick past the outstretched arms of Kings’ keeper Brad Hughes.

Burchill spent last season on the sidelines as an assistant coach for the Cougars, and his veteran leadership has helped the Cougars jump out to a 3-0 start to take an early lead in the South Division.

Keeper’ David Thalheimer continues to impress, recording his second shutout in three starts.

Cougars coach Jamie Pollock was pleased with the progress of his squad.

“I think the weekend went very well,” said Pollock. “The end result is to get the points and we managed to do that. We were a better team on Sunday than we were on Saturday, so we’re continuously improving which is...very important for us.”

“It was also a good weekend in the sense that it was our first chance to get away as a team and to get to know one another a little bit better and come together...so that was positive as well.”

The Cougars will face the Medicine Hat Rattlers next weekend, a team that has given the Cougars fits in the past.

“Their coach [Jim Loughlin] always has them extremely well organized,” said Pollock. “We are looking to continue [and] have a good week of training and...to play an exciting attractive game so that the people who come out to watch will be excited about coming back.”