Minot tune up
author: nathan mccarville | sports writer
Best Canadian invasion since 1812/Arthur Ward
Shaky start to preseason exhibition
The University of Regina soccer team has recently completed four pre-season games held in Minot against the Minot State University Beavers. The first friendly pre-season game the Cougars played against their North Dakota-born rivals ended with a 1-0 loss. Though, just five hours later, the Cougars played against Minot State again. The Cougars saw marked improvement in their second game against Minot State tying the game 1-1, Alex Ensign matching the Beavers goal by the Beavers’ Taryn Love, saving the Cougars for the time being, and preserving their preseason record.
The game the next day was drastically different from the games played the previous day. The Aug. 17 game offered a huge victory for Minot, who doubled up on the Cougars by the end of the game. The Beavers scored 3 times within the first 11 minutes of the game, thanks to the Beavers’ Jordyn Cook, Sofia Lewis, and Haley Berryman. Haley Berryman was able to score once again before the first half was over, though the Cougars responded with two goals in the second half of the game by Grace Miller and Sydney Langen.
The fourth and final game of the four game series, held on the 18th in early morning, 8:30am early to be exact, was ultimately won by a newcomer to the Cougars soccer team. Aside from the goal keepers not letting a single goal in the net, fans and team alike thanking Kylie Bolton and Mira Cappello, as first-year Lauryn Hayes worked the ball into the net in the second half of the game, resulting in the first victory of the year for the Cougars soccer team.
However, this was not the only thing that the Cougars have been up to in the time before the season is set to start in September. The Cougars took part in the University of Lethbridge Tournament from August 24-26, which included the Mount Royal Cougars, the Carroll College Fighting Saints, the University of Alberta Pandas, the MacEwan University Griffins, the University of Regina Cougars and, obviously, the home team Pronghorns. The Cougars were able to tie their first game against their Mount Royal counterparts of the same name, the Mount Royal Cougars, in a game that ended in a 1-1 result. The Cougars then faced off against the MacEwan Griffins that offered the least favourable game played so far this year, resulting in a 4-0 game in favour of the Griffins. The Alberta Pandas played their last game against the Cougars, beating the Regina team 2-0 on August 26. The final results of the tournament showed the Pandas as the team coming out on top with 3 wins, followed by the Griffins, Pronghorns, MRU Cougars, with the Regina Cougars in 5th in front of Carroll University’s 3 losses for the tournament.
The Cougars will be beginning their regular season on Sept. 8 against the Manitoba Bisons on the Cougars’ home U of R field.
