Second-Half Score Sees Cougars Down Huskies in 2025 Season-Opener

SASKATOON, Sask. – Thanks to a 65th-minute goal, the Mount Royal Cougars handed the University of Saskatchewan (USask) Huskie Women's Soccer team a season-opening loss Saturday afternoon (Aug. 30) at Griffiths Stadium.

With the loss, the Huskies open the 2025 regular season with an 0-1-0 record while the Cougars start the season 1-0-0 for the first time since 2022.

It took Mount Royal just over one minute to score their first goal of the new campaign, with the Huskies fouling inside the box to set up Tamara Djurisic to convert an early penalty kick.

With momentum on their side, the Cougars had the Dogs on their back foot, holding the home team back until Danielle Lehmann produced the first real Saskatchewan scoring chance ten minutes into the contest.

Shortly after, third-year midfielder Jenna Steacy tried to get the Huskie offence going with a feed into the Cougar's box. After passing through a group of attackers and defenders, the ball found Danielle Lehmann who wasted took full advantage of the opportunity, netting the Dogs' first score of the season.

Just a few minutes later the Dogs capitalized on the shifted momentum. Madison Mayert carried the ball down the right sideline before sending a centering pass with pinpoint accuracy to rookie Isabelle Lachance. Despite coming into the zone with speed, Lachance was able to head the ball past the MRU keeper and record her first goal in her first career game.

With the lead, the Huskies took control of the game, controlling possession and coming close to extending their lead on a few occasions.

Despite the Huskies effort to extend their advantage, the Cougars found life late in the half when Dany Juarez tied things up heading into the break. 

20 minutes into the second half the Cougars were back on the attack, receiving a corner kick which was converted by Juarez for the second of the game.

For the remainder of the game, both teams displayed impressive discipline at the defensive end, limiting scoring chances until the final whistle sounded.

The Cougars win marked just their third over the Huskies in head-to-head meetings and first since the 2018 season.

The Huskies return to action Sunday afternoon, with the Calgary Dinos set to visit Griffiths Stadium. Kickoff is set for 2:30 PM following the Huskie Men's Soccer team's match at 12:00 PM. Tickets are available at HuskieTickets.com.