Mount Royal Cougars set to kick-start soccer season with high expectations
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The early returns look good for both soccer programs at Mount Royal University heading into the 2022-23 season.
Especially for the men.
The MRU Cougars open their U SPORTS campaign on the road Saturday against the host MacEwan Griffins in Edmonton (2:30 p.m.).
The Mount Royal men’s soccer team is coming off an incredible season of highs, finishing at 6-1-3 as Central Division champions with 21 points after a five-game win streak and hosting the Canada West Men’s Soccer Final Four in which it ultimately finished with a bronze medal in conference competition.
Standouts among the men’s soccer program include Moe El Gandour, for his CW Player of the Year award, and Caden Rogozinski, who was named to the Canada West all-rookie team and selected sixth overall by the Cavalry FC in the Canadian Premier League-U SPORTS Draft last year. Cougars athlete board president and lead goalkeeper Sterling Kerr is also a big asset in net for the Cougars after recording the majority of the team’s wins last season.
The senior El Gandour, a Cavalry under-20 star, was a key component to the MRU men’s soccer success last season and will continue to be a dominant leader for the Cougars. He led Canada West in scoring with eight goals for his hometown Cougars and led the conference in 11 points, including three assists. To cap off his incredible season, El Gandour was named the 2021 Canada West Men’s Soccer Player of the Year and was nominated to the U SPORTS First All-Canadian team. In the playoffs, El Gandour assisted his team in capturing bronze at the Canada West Men’s Soccer Final Four with a bicycle goal against the University of Fraser Valley Cascades.
With leaders such as El Gandour, Rogozinski and Kerr returning to guide the men’s soccer team, the Cougars are poised to push further this season and aim for a spot in the 2022 U SPORTS Men’s Soccer National Championships.
All told, it has the Ryan Gyaki-coached Cougars ranked second behind the UBC Thunderbirds in the CW men’s soccer pre-season poll.
After two games on the road in Edmonton — including a Sunday game against the host Alberta Golden Bears (2:15 p.m.) — the Cougars return to MRU for their home opener on Saturday, Sept. 3 against the University of Calgary Dinos (3 p.m.).
Meanwhile, the MRU women open up their 14-game schedule on the road against the Lethbridge Pronghorns on Saturday (2 p.m.) and follow with their home opener — also against the Pronghorns — on Wednesday, Aug. 31, at Stadium Field (6 p.m.).
Year by year, the Cougars women’s soccer team under veteran head coach Tino Fusco continues to show growth and grit, determined to develop its program and its results for Mount Royal. After improving from a 2-10-2 record in 2019 to a 3-7-2 record in 2021, the women continue to climb the steep hill of a rebuild.
With promising new talent such as Sydney Danielewicz and rookie Jordan Grundl, who is from a German semi-professional league, the women’s team continues to add the necessary building blocks to their team for success.
Although the loss of captain Janai Martens and top goaltender Katrina Greenley will be a challenge, the team is confident the legacy and mark Martens and Greenley set up for future leadership and success will carry the team well into the 2022 season. Continuing to develop their program steadily over the next season with the goal of cracking Canada West playoffs, the Cougars — ranked 13th in the CW pre-season poll — are ready to make a name for themselves in the MRU community.
Danielewicz met and exceeded expectations last year with the Cougars, who finished 3-7-2 in fourth place of the Central Division. Danielewicz, a local Calgarian and science student at MRU, earned a top-10 position among Canada West statistics leaders in her 10 games played. Finishing fourth overall in shots with 36 and 10th overall with six goals, Danielewicz earned a position on the Canada West all-rookie team and was honoured with the MRU women’s soccer rookie-of-the-year award. Milestone moments for Danielewicz last year included a hat-trick against the Pronghorns at home on Sept. 11, 2021. Subsequently, second-year Danielewicz, a Calgary Blizzards product, was awarded the MRU Players Bench female athlete of the week and Canada West women’s soccer player of the week.
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