Cougars claim Crowchild Classic at McMahon

CALGARY – Playing with a man advantage the majority of the game, Mount Royal broke open a tight game late and walked away with a 4-0 win over the Calgary Dinos men's soccer team Saturday afternoon from McMahon Stadium.

MRU remains atop the Canada West Prairie Division with the win to move to 4-0-1 on the year, while the Dinos remain in second at 3-2.

In a game that featured 11 total cards between the two city rivals, it was Mount Royal that struck first. Joshua Flaksman sent a perfect through ball into the Dinos' box, where Chanan Chanda snuck behind the defence and just got a toe to the ball to give the visitors the 1-0 lead in the 30th minute.

Calgary was dealt a tough hand when one of its players was sent off following a second yellow card in the 38th minute.

Despite playing down a player, the Dinos regrouped and dominated the early going of the second half. First it was William Omoreniye settling a nice pass in the box and firing a shot low, but Sjard Strauss was up to the task, pushing it away before Kimia Kassanda's rebound attempt went high. 

Calgary kept ramping up the pressure with a number of dangerous chances, including a header by Aidan Izadi going just wide of the frame in the 61st.

Moments later, things went from bad to worse for the Dinos as a nice sliding tackle in the box was whistled for a hand ball. Dinos keeper Hany Shafie nearly made an incredible save on the ensuing MRU PK, but Chanda netted his second of the day on a perfectly placed penalty for his fifth of the year - tying for him for the league lead.

The Cougars put this one out of reach late with Flaksman one-timing a cross in front of the face of the goal in the 78th before Tim Beckedahl closed out the scoring in stoppage time.

Calgary actually finished the day with a 15-14 edge in shots in this one, while MRU had the 8-5 advantage in shots on goal.

Both squads now head west next weekend. The Dinos head to the Okanagan to take on UBCO Friday and Thompson Rivers Saturday. Meanwhile, Mount Royal will square off against Trinity Western Friday night before a Saturday night contest at UFV.