Justin McCaffrey, Mount Royal Sports Information
CALGARY – Kamil Zielinski stole the show in his final home game for the Cougars. The fifth-year goalkeeper stopped a late-game penalty kick to preserve the Cougars' 1-0 victory. Cody Cook scored the lone goal of the game for Mount Royal.
Mount Royal wasted no time getting on the board in the second installment of the Crowchild Classic. Cougars' midfielder Jeff Blake stole the ball and headed toward the Dinos goal. He laid a beautiful ball through the Dinos defenders as Cody Cook was running on. Cook grabbed the ball in space made no mistake, sliding the ball past Hunter Brett in the Calgary goal.
The rivalry started to heat up and the cards started flying. Within the first 25 minutes, the two teams combined for three yellow cards.
The Dinos had a chance to equalize in the 35th minute when they drew a free kick at the top of the box. Robin Whittaker stepped up and blasted a left foot but he was unable to beat the Cougars' four-man wall.
Early in the second half, the Dinos earned another free kick and again it was Whittaker who stepped up to take it. The usually surefooted Whittaker sailed the ball well over the goal and preserved the Cougars one goal advantage.
Tensions rose as the match waned on and the referee was forced to speak with both benches on multiple occasions. As a result, the game lost much of its pace and slowly became a sloppy affair.
The Dinos dialed up the pressure and forced Kamil Zielinski to make two of the best saves of his stellar five-year career.
Calgary kept pressing and drew a foul in the box. Lindon Fedorik stepped up for the Dinos and went right. Zielinski, the star of the match, guessed correctly and made an enormous save to preserve the lead for Mount Royal.
The Cougars managed to ride Zielinski's stellar play to the final whistle and preserve the 1-0 victory.
Mount Royal improves 7-4-3 with the win. Calgary drops to 7-3-2 with the loss.
Mount Royal will enjoy a weekend off before preparing for a road trip to Lethbridge and Saskatchewan, beginning on Friday Oct. 21.
Calgary will have a short turn around as they will host the Winnipeg Wesmen at home this weekend. Their first match kicks off at 2:15pm on Saturday afternoon.