Dan Khavkin, Cougar Athletics

CALGARY, AB - The Mount Royal University Cougars played hosts to visiting Thompson Rivers University WolfPack on a chilly Saturday afternoon in Calgary. The dramatic 2-2 affair was full of red cards, hard tackles, and two last minute goals.

The game was gritty, with a total of 20 fouls being called against both sides. 15 MRU fouls along with a red card and 5 fouls for TRU with two red cards handed to their side.

Cougars captain Jeff Blake had the first offensive chance in the game. The veteran centre-half played sweeper for a moment, controlling the play just inside the opposing half. Seeing no option available to him, he unloaded a strike from distance. WolfPack keeper Alex Ram could only watch as the ball nicked the top of the crossbar.

TRU Forward Ryan Glanville accumulated his second yellow card within a mere seven minutes to put his side down a man for the duration of the game.

Following the sending off the WolfPack changed their tactics and for the remainder of the half played like they weren't missing their player.

Thompson Rivers found the back of the net in the thirty-fourth minute. A counter-attack lead to French-born Maxime Fieujean smashing the ball over the head of Kyran Valley, rattling the top of the netting.

The score going into halftime would remain at 1-0 TRU.

A Mount Royal tactic change at the half-time helped the Cougars dominate the first twenty minutes of the second half. The mobile Cougar side began causing more trouble for the WolfPack who began drawing more fouls.

Goalscorer Fieujean picked up an automatic red card, pushing down an oncoming MRU player just outside the box in the 52nd minute, setting the stage for Joshua Munoz. Munoz curled the ball into the bottom corner of the far-post past a sprawling keeper to level the game at ones.

Both teams exchanges chances, looking to take the lead. Mount Royal senior striker Ryan Clancy sent in Jake Vickers one-on-one but Vickers tapped the ball inches away from the post. Moments on, he found himself inside the box this time but managed to only sting the palms of Ram, who parried the ball before catching it.

The final quarter of an hour was absolutely breathtaking; it was a rollercoaster of raw emotion as both teams refused to give up.

Orest Ndababenze tapped in a pass from Vickers in the 87th minute to put the home crowd to their feet, roaring in excitement expecting a victory.

However, inside the final ticks of the game, Jan Pirretas shocked and essentially silenced the Cougars hopeful with a stunning goal from the corner of the box.

The back-and-forth affair resulted in a 2-2.

MRU awaits UBCO for their next match Sunday afternoon with kickoff scheduled for 1:30 pm while TRU takes a trip to Husky territory with kickoff in Saskatoon to be at 2:15 pm.