CALGARY – Soccer is back, and the University of Calgary Dinos men's soccer team will begin the 2019 Canada West regular season with a bang as they take on their crosstown rivals the Mount Royal University Cougars. 

The first Crowchild Classic action of the year will be just a one-fixture meeting, with the game kicking off at Mount Royal on Saturday at 1 p.m., live on CanadaWest.tv presented by Co-op. The teams will meet again on the last day of the regular season, when the Dinos host the Cougars at Dinosaur Field on Oct. 19.

The Dinos come into the season ranked No. 6 in the preseason Canada West coaches' poll, while the Cougars sit three spots back in ninth place out of the 13-team league. UBC, Alberta, and Trinity Western led the way in the coaches' voting – see full CW preview here.

SENIOR LEADERSHIP
With a number of first-year players joining the squad this year, the Dinos will turn to a trio of fifth-year players to lead both on and off the field. Cristiano De Carvalho, Jared Fillo, and Mark Bohdan were all top five in minutes played for the Dinos last year, and will continue to be relied on heavily during the 2019 season.

DYNAMIC DUO
The Dinos will return both of their leading goal-scorers from last year, and will be looking for them to build on their success from last year. Third-year Dominik Zuczek and second-year Derek Brust, led the team with three goals last season, and will be heading the 2019 attack for the Dinos. 

IT STARTS AT THE BACK
Fortunately, the Dinos have the luxury of returning their starting goalkeeper from last year. Third-year Jake Ruschkowski, who started all 15 games for the Dinos in 2018, is back and ready for another strong 2019 campaign. Directly in front of Ruschkowski, the Dinos will look for a younger player to replace 2018 second team Canada West all-star Ryan Doering's production. Doering was the team's lone fifth-year last season. 

SCOUTING REPORT
vs. MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS
Match Info: Saturday, Aug. 25, 1 p.m. – MRU Stadium Field
2018 Record: 5-8-1, 4th in Prairie Division
2018 Leading Scorer(s): Orest Ndabaneze (5g, 1a), Moe El Gandour (2g, 4a)
All-time series: Calgary leads 8-2-4 (since 2012)

NOTES

• The Cougars were ranked 9th in the pre-season coaches poll
• Mount Royal finished 4th in the Prairie Division last year, and were ousted in the quarter-finals by the eventual Canada West champion UBC Thunderbirds
• Last year, the Cougars played the Dinos tight, losing one game just 3-2, and drawing the other match 0-0
• The Cougars had two second team Canada West all-stars last year in Moe El Gandour and Daniel Harrison 

-UC-