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MSOC: UBC (1) at MRU (0) OT

In the last Canada West men's soccer Final Four matchup of the day, the Mount Royal Cougars fell 1-0 to the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds after 120 minutes of intense play. 

Stadium field was packed full of fans who came out to watch these two teams battle it out on the grass as they went through regulation time scoreless and into extra time.

The 101st minute finally saw a goal after Jackson Farmer was able to connect a header through a mass of Thunderbirds and Cougars players crowded in front of MRU's net, putting UBC up 1-0. 

Tristan Nkoghe took a free kick from the right side to find Farmer standing in front of the Cougars goal where he was able to redirect the ball into the top right corner.

 "I just thought our boys put in a wonderful effort for 120 minutes," Mike Mosher, UBC head coach said. "But to be honest, being given the season we had and the adversity we faced through it all, I kind of anticipated that was probably going to be the case."

The match was neck-'n-neck the entire game, with both teams demonstrating their best efforts. Both MRU's Sterling Kerr and UBC's Bennett McKay put on an impressive performance on their respective goal lines. McKay saved seven shots on goal by MRU and Kerr stopped 10 from UBC. 

McKay was also awarded player of the game for the Thunderbirds after his shutout performance. 

"It felt nice to finally take a breath out there," McKay said. "It was tough going 90 minutes without a goal and then to finally see us put one away … a great feeling."

MRU's player of the game was awarded to Caden Rogozinski after an impressive performance on behalf of the Cougars. Rogozinski was able to utilize his speed to consistently get back and defend against an aggressive UBC offence. He was also seen consistently putting his body on the line to prevent the Thunderbirds from reaching Kerr. 

"We played really really well and played our hearts out for 120 minutes," Rogozinski said. "I feel like the result was very unlucky, the game could have gone either way and we just have to keep going forward and get prepared for tomorrow's game."

Rogozinski and the Cougars are ready to battle it out tomorrow and bring home a bronze medal to Mount Royal, keeping up the team's solid communication and connection on the field. 

MRU head coach Ryan Gyaki also said they are ready to rally in order to bring home a medal tomorrow morning. 

"It's very disappointing, but I'm proud of our boys and their 120 min effort. UBC is a strong competitor and we put up a good fight till the end," Gyaki said. 

Mount Royal will face-off against the University of Fraser Valley tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. as they battle for the Canada West bronze medal. The University of British Columbia will meet their west rivals, the University of Victoria Vikes, in the gold medal match at Stadium Field for a 2 p.m. kick off. Catch the game live at MRU or on Canada West TV presented by Co-op. 

Away Games:

WHCKY: MRU (3) at ALB (2)

Athena Hauck scored the game winning goal early in the third period as the Cougars held on to beat the Alberta Pandas 3-2 in a thriller at Clare Drake Arena Saturday afternoon.

She was aided on the scoresheet by Kate Scidmore, and Aliya Jomha, the latter of whom moved into a tie for second in the Canada West goals race with her fourth.
 
Bree Kennedy and Allison Reich had the goals for the Pandas, both coming in the second period.
 
The first period was one dominated by the netminders. Alberta's Kirsten Chamberlain and MRU's Zoe De Beauville turned eight shots aside a piece. The second frame more than made up for a milquetoast opening period, as each squad netted two goals. The scoring was opened on the stick of MRU's Scidmore, who sniped a shot from the slot past Chamberlin to make it 1-0.
 
The score would not stay for long, as Kennedy equalized no more than 30 seconds later on a tip goal from a Kieser point shot. Reich scored her second career goal midway through the frame, on a crease rebound that was also assisted by Kieser, her fourth of the season.
 
Jomha potted a goal with a minute and a half remaining to level the score heading into the final frame. The third was opened with the eventual game winning goal from Hauck, a nifty shot that Chamberlin got a piece of with her glove.

The Cougars stay at home to open a two-game series of their own against the Manitoba Bisons (6-2-0), starting on Nov. 19^th.

This concludes the regular season series between the two squads, with the Cougars ultimately winning it 2-1. The overall goal difference of 7-6, in favour of Mount Royal, illustrates just how competitive the games between the squads were this campaign.
 
The win vaults the Cougars into first place in the Canada West, with a 6-1-1 record thus far. Their goal differential of +20 paces the conference as well.

WVB: MRU (3) at CGY (0):

The University of Calgary Dinos women's volleyball team couldn't fight off the Mount Royal Cougars as they dropped all three sets to their cross-town rivals on their second matchup of the weekend, falling 3-0 (16-25, 21-25,14-25) Saturday night at Jack Simpson Gym.

The Cougars' pair of outside hitters Madison Marshall and Haley Roe lead their team to take down the Dinos at the Jack. Marshall was all over the court, leading in kills with 11 off of 26 total attacks, while Roe managed nine kills in 19 attacks.

The Dinos and Cougars went back and forth through the second set. After falling down 19-15, the Dinos fought their way back to within one late. But, after taking a late-set timeout, the Cougars pulled away behind back-to-back kills to set up match point where Quinn Pelland and Emma Boyd finished things off with one of MRU's seven blocks on the night.

After a service ace by Calgary's Regan Ingram to start the third set, the Cougars quickly pulled away to an 8-1 lead before the Dinos called for a timeout. The Dinos managed to claw back a few points with kills by Sophie Reed, Desirae Unger and Keenzie Vaandering, but couldn't close the gap on the Cougars who won decisively. 

Next up the Cougars will host the University of Alberta Pandas in their home opener on Friday, November 12 at 8 p.m. on MRU's Kenyon Court. Catch the game live on Canada West TV, presented by Co-op. 

MVB: MRU (2) at CGY (3): 

The University of Calgary Dinos men's volleyball team improved to 2-0 on the young season, defeating the Mount Royal University Cougars 3-2 (25-17, 25-13, 27-29, 14-25, 15-7) on Saturday night at Jack Simpson Gym.

The Dinos stormed out to a 2-0 advantage, taking both sets convincingly before finding themselves in a hard-fought third set. Mount Royal took the third and fourth before Calgary reset and won the game in the final set. 

The opening set of the game mirrored last night's game between the Dinos and the Cougars. Again, both teams started strong, however, it was the Dinos who took an early lead. After both teams traded blows throughout the set, Mount Royal was given a red card after arguing a non-call on a potential carry ball. The Cougars couldn't quite regain their composure after the card and dropped the first set 25-17.

The second set was more of the same, the Dinos attack seemed unstoppable as they would go on to win 25-14. Tomas Sora orchestrated the attack, finishing with 41 assists on the night and he made sure everyone got involved early. 

Chris Byam and Luis Lange who finished with 21 and nine kills respectively, led the comeback for the Cougars. Despite a few service errors late in the third set, the Cougars were able to hold on and win 29-27.

Mount Royal seemed to have discovered the recipe for success as they dominated the fourth set. Byam, Haronga and Lange all contributed to the Cougars attack which had a 33 percent kill percentage for the set. the Cougars won the fourth 25-14.

During the fifth and final set, it was Baines who propelled his team to victory. Throughout the entirety of the match, it was Baines' competitiveness and energy that kept his team in the game. Baines had a clutch kill late in the final set, extending the lead to 11-7. That lead would prove to be too much for the Cougars to overcome as the Dinos would go on to win the next four points and take the final set 15-7.

Cougars men's volleyball will look to reset against the University of Alberta Golden Bears on Friday, November 12 at 6 p.m. on MRU's Kenyon Court. Watch the action live or on Canada West TV, presented by Co-op.