Dan Khavkin, Mount Royal Sport Information
CALGARY - Mount Royal Cougars dropped a 2-0 lead against a surging Grant MacEwen Griffins Sunday afternoon who managed to claw back into the game late in the second half, netting three unanswered goals in the final 10 minutes to steal three points from the home side. The Cougars finish off an opening weekend home stand at Cougar Stadium Field with a record of 0-0-2.
MacEwen started the game with poise, controlling the tempo for the first quarter of an hour, forcing Cougar keeper Kyran Valley to stand at attention as he parried away a couple of early attempts on net.
The Cougars accumulated three yellow cards in the first half alone for a total of five in the game.
Despite the Griffins holding possession for the majority of the half, it was Mount Royal who put the first goal on the board against the Edmonton side.
The goal came off a corner and was put away by Richard Nyavor who headed the ball in past a sprawling MacEwen keeper.
After Kylan Johnson was taken down by the MacEwen goalkeeper inside the box, Justin Anderson-Louch put away the penalty kick five minutes before half time.
Griffins controlled the tempo again from kick off in the second half but the Cougars kept their composure. The tables were turned though 60 minutes into the game as Rohin Nazari who was already in the ref's book, took a shot on net after the whistle and was handed a red card for his actions.
Lahai Mansaray took matters into his own hands and silenced the home crowd by scoring two goals.
MacEwen got on the board thanks to some lucky bounces in which the third year forward knicked the ball past a flat footed Valley.
Josh Samuel then took a hit minutes later from just outside the box that hit an unsuspecting Cougar defender and the deflection floated into the back of the net.
Finally, the third goal was a result of a rebound that man-of-the-match Mansaray tapped in to complete the comeback
Mount Royal visits the University of Saskatchewan next weekend with kickoff scheduled for Noon.