Cougars men’s soccer team remain unbeaten halfway through season
By Josh Werle, Sports Editor
The Mount Royal University Cougars men’s soccer team has gotten off to a fantastic start to their 2022 campaign. At the time of writing, the team ranks in seventh place in the U SPORTS top-ten overall rankings. This ranking is based on the team’s ELO— a system that calculates a rating based on player stats and performance — which is 1652.52. In their divisional rankings, the Cougars sit comfortably in first place of the Canada West Prairie Division. At the time of writing, the Cougars sit at 19 points while their closest competition, the University of Alberta Golden Bears, sit at 13.
The team currently sits at a record of 6-0-1, highlighting how they have been able to achieve all of these accolades during the first half of the season. At exactly the halfway point, the Cougars remain unbeaten, and will look to continue their hot streak and make a run at a championship. Mohamed El Gandour, the team’s leading scorer, continued his scoring streak this past weekend with a goal in each of the squad’s games. El Gandour scored the lone goal in the Cougars’ 1-0 victory over the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, and opened the scoring in a 2-0 victory over the Trinity Western Spartans. He holds a five-game scoring streak, and sits at eight goals in seven games played.
The Cougars’ success comes not only from incredible offensive output, but also from stellar defense and goalkeeping. Sterling Kerr, the teams tenured goalkeeper, has only allowed four goals against in seven games this season. With 585 minutes of net time, Kerr has only needed to make 23 saves, highlighting how strong the defensive effort has been thus far.
Overall, the Cougars seem poised to have success in the second half of the season, and are showing no signs of slowing down. Offensively the team is firing on all cylinders, while the defense is shutting down their opponents. If the Cougars’ adversaries happen to make it to the net, the goalkeeping has been stellar and the coaching staff has managed every player on the field effectively. After a blazing hot first half, the Cougars should be able to continue pushing and easily hold the top spot in their division over the next seven games.
