Taking care of business

The Mount Royal Cougars have been dominating conference rivals on the soccer field this year. Except for one.

The Medicine Hat College Rattlers have been giving both the men’s and women’s soccer teams a tough time this season, and both games Saturday were no different. In the Mount Royal home opener, the Cougar men lost a narrow 1-0 decision to the Rattlers, which is still the only blemish on the men’s otherwise perfect record.

On Saturday, the Cougars and the Rattlers met again, and the 4-1 Cougar men were eager to avenge their only loss. The Rattlers had other ideas, and in a hard fought game the two teams played to a 2-2 draw, keeping the Cougar men from taking the rematch.

Colby Sawatzky and Lane Forsyth each scored for the Cougars, who moved to 4-1-1 on the season.

In ladies action, the Cougars and Rattlers played in a rematch of the home opener that saw the Cougars take a hard-fought 2-1 win. This time, in another close match, Gillian Doubleday scored two goals for the lady Cougars, as they again edged the Rattlers in a hard-nosed 2-1 victory.

Sunday was business as usual, as both the Cougar men and women each won with shutout victories over the Lethbridge College Kodiaks.

In women’s soccer action, Ainsley Cardoso-Wagner continues to be a force between the pipes as she recorded her second shutout of the season in a 3-0 win over the Kodiaks.

Brittney Ahearn built on her strong game against Red Deer College Wednesday evening with an outstanding two-goal performance against the Kodiaks, and Meghan MacDonald also added a goal for the Cougars, bringing her season total to four goals in just five games.

The lady Cougars will look to keep their unbeaten streak alive on Wednesday night, when they face off against the SAIT Trojans. The last time these teams met, the Cougars completely dominated the Trojans en route to an 11-1 victory.

The Cougar men’s soccer team had one of their tougher tests of the season, earning a hard-fought 1-0 victory against the Kodiak men’s team.

Tudor Dinca made his second start in net for the Cougars on Sunday, recording a shutout as starting goaltender David Thalheimer was given the night off.

Lane Forsyth scored the lone goal for the Cougars, capping off a night where the home team couldn’t seem to generate much offense against a surprisingly resilient Lethbridge side.

The Cougar men will face off against the SAIT Trojans on Wednesday evening in a battle for south division supremacy. Game time is 5:00 p.m. for the women and 7:00 p.m. for the men on the MRU soccer pitch.

The last meeting between the two teams saw the Cougars significantly outplay the Trojans in a 5-0 shutout win.