Justin McCaffrey, Mount Royal Sports Information
CALGARY – Lahai Mansaray scored twice for the Griffins to help them earn their first victory of the season. Daniel Harrison scored the only goal for Mount Royal in the 2-1 loss.
The match was delayed several minutes by a dispute over jerseys. 20 minutes after the original start time; Mount Royal and MacEwan were finally set to get the game underway.
The Cougars dictated pace from the first whistle, holding the ball deep in the Griffins' zone for the majority of the first half. Both Tyrin Hutchings and Darius Ramsay had glorious scoring chances but just couldn't put it away.
Off a turnover near the half line, Samuel Foster grabbed the ball and ran toward the middle shorthanded. With nowhere to go he chipped the all up and over the Cougars' defenders to Lahai Mansaray, who was in full flight. Mansaray broke all the way down the left side and slid a hard, low shot past Kamil Zielinski to give MacEwan a 1-0 lead after 26 minutes.
Mansaray's goal held up as the only goal of the first and MacEwan took a 1-0 lead into halftime.
Mount Royal's pressure finally broke through early in the second half. Cody Cook made a brilliant move and ripped a shot that went off a defender for a corner kick. Darius Ramsay took the corner and from the backend Daniel Harrison got a head on the ball, tying the game at one.
The pace of the game tapered off after the goal as both sides looked extremely tentative. Mount Royal earned a corner in the 75th minute and nearly earned the lead off a Tyrin Hutchings header. The ball was cleared all the way to the half where Mansaray was again waiting for it.
Just like his first goal, Mansaray did all the work himself, covering the entire distance of the half. In similar fashion, he drove to the outside and ripped the ball far side on Zielinski to give the Griffins their lead back. 2-1 is how the game would end, giving MacEwan their first lead of the season.
Mount Royal falls to 6-4-2 on the season with the loss. MacEwan improves to 1-6-3 after their first win.
The Cougars will prepare for their final home game of the season on Friday night when they take on their cross-town rivals from Calgary. The game will be played at 7pm under the lights at MRU Stadium Field.
The Griffins will return back to Edmonton for a home and home weekend with the Golden Bears. Saturdays match at Alberta is set for 2pm, while the rubber match at MacEwan will go at 2:30pm on Sunday.