The second iteration of the Crowchild Classic resulted in a 1-1 draw between the Mount Royal University Cougars and University of Calgary Dinos. A total of six yellow cards were called as both teams engaged in an all-out war on a beautiful fall sunset evening at Mount Royal Field.

The referee's whistle was more prevalent than ever in this matchup, as it took less than two minutes for the first foul to be called. Finn Marshall laid a physical tackle that was ruled illegal and that gave the Dinos a free kick 15 feet outside of the box. The Cougars stayed strong and defended a crafty Dinos passing play with poise and precision as Abel Nesibu blocked a ground-ball cross with a brilliantly timed slide tackle.

The first of six yellow cards was issued to the Dinos only four minutes into the game as Soliman Aria slid into Nesibu's legs, giving Ethan Keen a free kick just in front of the half-field line. Keen's playmaking shone under the floodlights as he executed his first of many perfectly placed passes over the defense and onto the curly-haired head of Miguel Da Rocha, who was unable to redirect the ball on net.

The energy of the Cougars was evident early on the offensive end as Joshua Flaksman registered his squad's first shot of the game in the 16th minute. Flaksman turned on the afterburners and blazed up the field to catch up to Clement Guay's long, high pass but was denied by the sweeping goal-keeping of Hany Shafie.

However, the scoring drought only lasted nine more minutes. After two fouls in a single minute on the Dinos, Keen bent a beautiful curve ball into the box right to Alex Kemsley, who used his head to redirect the ball into the net for his second goal of the season and give his team a 1-0 lead.

Clement Guay was forced to leave the game early as, after three near-injury scares, Timon Haetscher came to relieve his teammate in the 36th minute. The reserve fired a shot on goal followed by another attempt from Da Rocha but Shafie stood on his head as MRU walked into halftime holding a one goal lead.

The chippy nature of the game did not calm down in the short halftime break, as contact between two Cougars defensemen and an attacking Jacob Hunter led to a Dinos penalty kick. With only one successful kick on the season for the team, Gianmarco Plenzik stepped up to the plate with an opportunity to tie. Strauss's reflexes may have been cat-like, but as he dove left, Pleznik sniped the bottom right corner of the net and tied the game at one goal apiece.

An excessively physical tackle from Jacob Hunter on Da Rocha led to yet another yellow card in the 56th minute, and the teams had to be separated as Hunter's post-whistle actions did not sit well with the Cougars. Despite efforts from Dawid Dudek, Jonathan Walter and Skyler Rogers, all of whom registered shots on goal in the final 30 minutes of the game, Shafie remained flawless until the final whistle and as the sun set on Mount Royal Field, the game ended in 1-1 draw. 

Caden Rogozinski may not have registered a goal or an assist in this matchup, but took home Cougars Player of the Game honours for the intangibles he presented on the field. From relieving his fellow defenseman with clutch clearances in the faces of attacking Dinos forwards to his leadership as captain of the squad, Rog proved that real impact comes on the turf, not the stat sheet. Solomon Aria took home Dinos Player of the Game for his efforts.

The Cougars host the division-leading University of Alberta Golden Bears on Oct. 5th at 3 P.M. at Mount Royal Field and live on Canada West TV. With just four games left in the 2024-25 season, MRU looks to ramp up their intensity and make a run at the first seed to host the Canada West Men's Soccer Championship once again.