BOX SCORE CALGARY – In their first ever conference match-up, the University of Calgary Dinos and the Mount Royal University Cougars battled to a 1-1 draw on Sunday afternoon at West Varsity Soccer Pitch.

In Saturday's contest, the Dinos grabbed their first point of the season in a scoreless draw against the No. 7-ranked University of Alberta. The game was highlighted by strong defence and stellar play by goalkeeper Kristen Barton, and it came following two losses on the road last weekend.

Sunday's match marked the first-ever conference meeting between the Dinos and Cougars in any sport. The addition of Mount Royal to Canada West created a cross-town rivalry between the to two Calgary schools.

“I was disappointed with the performance, I felt we had the capability to play better than we did today, we just didn't bring our intensity consistently enough throughout the game,” said head coach Matthew Shepherd. “I thought in the second half we improved considerably and I actually thought we were going to steal the win at the end because we were coming on strong, but as a team we just got to get better at the basics to make sure we keep possession while moving forward and make like easier for our teammates."

Calgary scored the game's first goal in the 25th minute as Nikki Furukawa set up fellow first-year Taylor Stewart for her first goal in CIS with a shot from inside the box.

Without a marker so far this season, the Cougars recorded their first goal as a member of Canada West in the 34th minute. Kristen Bloom found Kelsey Kinzner deep in the Calgary end and put her in the position to patiently outwait Barton with a low shot to the right side of the net. The Mount Royal score tied the game at 1-1 at the half.

Similar to their previous game, the Dinos were able to mount some late pressure on the Cougars. With both teams playing their second game in as many days though, neither team was able to muster enough to score a go-ahead goal as the score remained 1-1.

Mount Royal ended the game was a 14-13 shot advantage on Calgary. Cougars` goal keeper Kelsey Marklund had 10 saves, while Barton made six stops for the Dinos.

The visiting Cougars were able to hold on for the draw despite finishing the match with 17 fouls, compared to the Dinos who had eight. It was Mount Royal's first point of the year after three losses.

The Dinos remain at home next weekend where they will play the University of Victoria and the University of the Fraser Valley on Sept. 22-23. Mount Royal travels north where they will take on the Pandas on Sept. 23.

-UC-