Strong showing on opening weekend

The cool weather and winds couldn’t keep the crowds away, as the 2010-11 Cougars men’s and women’s soccer season opened on Saturday, with plenty of fan fair and great soccer.

Cougar Women

The Cougar women looked a bit shaky coming out of the gates versus the Medicine Hat College Rattlers, as evidenced by an early goal against. Jacie Brusky fired a shot from near mid-field that eluded sprawling goalkeeper Ainsley Cardoso-Wagner, to give the guests the early 1-0 lead.

The Cougars however, would respond, just minutes later, as Brittany Ahearn fired home her first of two goals on the day, to even the score at one a piece.

With a tie heading into the half, the Cougars came out in the second frame, more calm and assertive, as they took control of the clock and field. Keeping possession of the ball and dictating the tempo, the Cougars were able to limit Rattlers opportunities and were able to convert one of their own, ending the game with a 2-1 victory.

“I felt the team played fairly well overall considering the pressure on them in the first game of the season,” said Cougars head coach Tino Fusco.

“We didn’t necessarily play our best, we had too many giveaways in the middle of the park, but we seemed to come away with the result and we’ll look to improve upon our effort in today’s match for Sunday.”

It certainly seems that those words resonated with the Cougars on Sunday, as they put on an impressive offensive display, hammering the home town Lethbridge Kodiaks 5-1.

Janelle Carbert, Meghan MacDonald, Kristin Deeks and Gillian Doubleday (2) all joined in on the goal scoring parade, as the Cougars easily cruised to a 2-0 start to begin the new season.

Meanwhile, in goal, Kelsey Marklund earned her first career ACAC victory in first her start, as the second year player was stuck behind Alana Swereda and Ainsley Cardoso-Wagner on the depth chart last season, earning her first opportunity to start in two seasons.

Coach Fusco was impressed with his team’s ability to convert opportunities on Sunday.

“The team played a pretty decent game throughout the 90 minutes, said Fusco.

“We had a lot of possession and ball movement and the team had a bunch of opportunities and really filled the net. It was a much better effort.”

With Gillian Doubleday’s two goals, she is now tied for the Mount Royal all-time goal scoring lead with 26 and sits fifth overall in the ACAC scoring.

As well, with Ahearn’s two goals on Saturday, she is now tied for seventh overall in ACAC scoring and third overall in Cougars scoring with 24 career markers.  

Cougar Men

With a win for the Cougar women already secured, the Cougar men looked to come out strong in their home opener, as they unveiled their 2009-12 ACAC Championship banner in a pre-game ceremony honoring the accomplishments of the previous year.

However, whether it was the ceremony, or the kick off to the start of another season, the Cougars came out tentatively in the first half, as both teams battled primarily in mid-field.

As the weather continued to take its toll on the field and players, the teams ended the first half in a scoreless draw.

About fifteen minutes into the second half, the unrelenting weather, forced a stop to the game, as thunder and lightning rolled into the Calgary area, temporarily delaying the match for upwards of 20 minutes.

After a short warm up, the teams resumed play, and whether it was the advantage of the break, or a mid-game talk, both teams came out fired up and more energetic than in the opening 60 minutes.

However, it was the Rattlers who would seize the opportunity in the 82 minute, as Derrick Hammel put his first marker of the season past Cougars keeper David Thalheimer to give the visitors a late 1-0 lead.

The Cougars would not be able to answer with time winding down, as the Rattlers stole the opening match 1-0 in Cougar country.

On Sunday, seeking to set the record straight, the Cougars came out versus the Lethbridge Kodiaks and crushed the opposition, with goal after goal, as the Cougars racked up a 7-0 victory versus the home side.

Justin Tawtel Josh Doiron, Brandan Czymoch, Arthur Paszkowski (2) and Lane Forsyth (2), all contributed on the offensive end for the Cougars, as David Thalheimer earned his first career ACAC win and shutout in his second game with the team.

With the win, the team’s record now stands at 1-1 heading into an all-important weekend.

On Saturday, the Cougars will host the Lakeland Rustlers, who are new to the ACAC soccer world this season. Game time for the women is 2:00 p.m., while the men square off at 4:00 p.m.

Meanwhile, Sunday’s action will see the Cougars host the Red Deer College Kings/Queens in a rare double home game weekend.

Game time for Sunday is set for 12:00 p.m. for the women and 2:00 p.m. for the men.