Home Openers Sept.24

The Mount Royal University Cougars men’s and women’s soccer teams are raring and ready to go, as the teams prepare for their regular season home openers versus the Medicine Hat Rattlers.

Already over a quarter of the way into the season, the Cougar men and women will get their first crack at home field advantage after starting the year with three consecutive road games.

Last season, the Cougar women were able to sweep their Medicine Hat counterparts, winning a pair of 2-1 games. Meanwhile, the men will be looking for retribution after dropping their home opener last season to the Rattlers 1-0, and settling for a 2-2 tie in their other match of the season.

Women’s head coach Tino Fusco expects it to be a challenging opener, but say’s their ready for kick-off.

“Medicine Hat has always been tough competition for us,” said Fusco. “The games have always been close and very competitive, so we are anticipating that. I really think Medicine Hat might be the best team in our conference this year, so I’m expecting a good game, but I don’t want to drop any points at home – we’ll be prepared.”

Last season, the Cougar women were a perfect 5-0 at home, while the men were just a shade under, coming in at 4-1 on their home turf.

Despite their home records, Cougar men’s head coach Jamie Pollock agrees it won’t an easy weekend.

“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.”

In addition, the home openers will also feature a hamburger barbeque for students and fans, as well as an Apple iPad giveaway!

For just $5 you’ll be able to scarf down a hamburger, drink and bag of chips.

Game time is set for noon for the women and 2:00 p.m. for the men.

Bring out your Cougar gear and appetites as the men’s and women’s soccer teams get ready to start the season off right!