CALGARY - The Mount Royal University Cougars have won their first Canada West Championship, defeating the defending champion UBC Thunderbirds 1-0.
 
The road to the Canada West Championship matchup was an exciting one for both teams. MRU finished the regular season first place in the Canada West Prairie Division with an 11-2-1 record. They bested Thompson Rivers University 2-1 in overtime in the quarterfinal and then the University of Victoria 3-1 in extra time in the semifinal. The T-Birds had a 13-1-2 record this season as the first place leader of the Canada West Pacific Division. Last weekend in their quarterfinal match they defeated the University of Calgary 3-0 and then the University of Alberta 3-0 in the semifinal. This was Mount Royal's first ever championship match appearance, meanwhile UBC had hoisted the trophy the last five seasons.
 

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The first half kicked off at Mount Royal Stadium Field in front of over 500 hundred fans who braved the low temperatures to cheer on the teams. The competitive tone was quickly set as both sides settled in for the contest. Opportunities on both ends of the pitch appeared, but defensive lines on either side remained strong. The Thunderbirds held a slight advantage for a few minutes, containing the Cougars forwards, but they remained resilient and eventually an opening was found. In the 26th minute on an offensive rush, Ethan Keen tore up the field with the ball. He found teammate Joshua Flacksman ahead on the left, who took a shot on Thunderbirds netminder Bennett McKay. McKay made the save, but was unable to control the rebound and Keen found the opportunity to put the ball in the back of the net. The remaining first half minutes saw no further goals and Mount Royal entered halftime in the lead 1-0.


 
The second half kicked off, the Cougars determined to defend their lead and the Thunderbirds eager to take it away. Canada West Player of the Year, UBC forward Sebastian Dzikowski, played hungry on the field, working to punch a hole in the Cougars defense, which was led by Canada West Defender of the Year, Caden Rogozinki. The Thunderbirds pressure was relentless, forcing Mount Royal netminder Aiden Dumoulin to be aggressive on the ball to make big saves for his team. As the half went on the game felt to be dominated by the Thunderbirds offence, forcing the Cougars to play smart defensive soccer. In the end the Cougars were able to defend their one-goal lead and made history, earning the program, and school's, first Canada West Championship.


 
After securing their spots last weekend, both teams will now compete in the U SPORTS National Championship, taking place in Sydney, Nova Scotia from November 9-12. Games can be streamed on cbc.ca.
 
"Today was a good indication of what Nationals will be like," said Cougars Head Coach Ryan Gyaki. "UBC is an incredible program, humble and hard working. Today's game could have gone either way and I think Nationals will be the same. We are looking forward to more hard fought games and hope the ball bounces our way again."