Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
CALGARY – A slow start against an undefeated, nationally-ranked team on their field can be a recipe for a headache.
That's exactly what happened to the MacEwan Griffins men's soccer team as they conceded twice in the first 16 minutes and lost 3-0 to the Mount Royal University Cougars on Saturday afternoon.
"We just spotted them two goals in the first 15-20 minutes with some unforced errors," said head coach Adam Loga. "We beat ourselves a little bit. Then you're chasing the game for the next 70."
After Josh Flaksman opened the scoring three minutes in for MRU and Niklas Myroniuk made it 2-0 at 16:00, the Griffins had a golden chance to get back in the game on a penalty kick just before half-time.
Rakan Yassin's attempt hit the post.
"We missed a couple of opportunities, one being a PK just before half, to try and climb our way out," said Loga. "We didn't really get the breaks today."
MRU's David Schaefer added an insurance marker eight minutes into the second half for the 3-0 result.
The Cougars improve to 4-0-0, while MacEwan falls to 1-2-0.
"We played with them, there's no doubt," said Loga. "It was a pretty evenly matched game. Unfortunately, we just made a couple of mental errors and a team that's No. 7 in the nation is going to punish you on those."
While they were even on corners (four apiece), MRU outshot MacEwan 15-6 (6-3 on goal). Yassin had a team-high two shots for MacEwan.
Marko Ilitch made three saves for the Griffins, while Aidan Dumoulin earned the shutout for MRU.
The biggest lesson MacEwan can take into their next contest – Sunday at Calgary (12 p.m., Canada West TV) – is started quicker and settling sooner.
"We've just got to manage ourselves," said Loga. "As footie players you have to manage yourselves and how you're playing. If there are some nerves at the beginning of the game, play the probabilities a bit better and play it safe until you work your way into the match.
"I think that comes with experience. Definitely lessons that were learned today and that's probably the most important thing as we head into tomorrow."
