Box Score
CALGARY – The Mount Royal University Cougars women's soccer team picked up their third win in a row and second of the weekend against the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns with a 2-0 result on Sunday afternoon.
The Cougars had the first real chance of the match in the 15th minute when
Darian Pluhator sent a pass to the back post to
Dany Juarez, but the Cougars striker sent the ball just wide.
After some sustained pressure in the 19th minute by Mount Royal,
Madeleine Albert nearly scored off a header, but the attempt was gobbled up by Lethbridge keeper Kate Prince.
Late in the first half, the match saw its first goal. Juarez sent a pass towards the middle intended for
Tamara Djurisic; however, the ball was cut off by Pronghorns' defender Ophelia Lacroix, deflecting towards her own net and into the bottom corner to make it 1-0 for MRU heading into half. The tally was scored as an own-goal.
Although it wasn't pretty, the Cougars were relieved to get on the board at the end of the first half.
"We were a little bit panicky in that last 20 minutes, so to get one before going into the second half made us feel a lot better," said MRU captain
Isabella Chirico.
In the second half, both sides struggled to generate consistent offence, with the play starting to get more chippy. Mount Royal was hungry for an insurance marker while Lethbridge could taste an equalizer.
In the 71st minute, Cougars forward Djurisic found herself in behind the Horns' backline but didn't get all of her power behind the shot and the attempt was easily saved by Prince.
Just a few minutes later, MRU got that insurance goal they were looking for. After
Dany Juarez's shot hit the crossbar,
Madeleine Albert stayed with it to eventually tap the ball in off the rebound for her first goal of the season, making it 2-0 in the 76th minute.
"[Albert] was a workhorse today. It was great to see her get one in the second half," said Chirico.
With the win, the Cougars improve to 8-1-1, slotting them second in the Prairie Division of the Canada West. The Pronghorns fall to 0-9-1 and are still in search of their first win.
