Cougars kick off 14th Canada West campaign
Zafir Nagji, Sports Editor |
School is back in session for post-secondary students across the country, and with the return of classes and homework comes the start of a new season in Canada West. At Mount Royal University, that means donning navy blue and cheering for the MRU Cougars, who kick off their 2025-26 Canada West campaign on the pitch with men’s and women’s soccer. Meet the two squads’ new faces, get reacquainted with their returning veterans and find out when and where to watch your Cougars on the football pitch.
Women’s soccer
Winning may be the ultimate goal of competition, but judging a team only by its finishing position is reductive at best. Such is the case with the MRU Cougars women’s soccer team, who narrowly missed last year’s Canada West playoffs, but had so much more to show than their ranking in the conference table. According to 17th-year head coach Tino Fusco, the team played well against their stiffest competition, and he expects them to bring their best to Canada West this season.
“Last year, having quite a few new players coming to the squad, I felt that we were quite competitive against some good B.C. sides that played a different physical style than perhaps what we were used to,” Fusco said. “Things that I’m looking for this year would be very similar. Us to be competitive. To possess the ball, to look forward. I feel we have the players to do that. And, yeah, I’m excited to bring that in person.”
Ella Filek, one of the team’s newest players last season, was signed days before the first game of 2024. The now-second-year goalkeeper had a steep learning curve, but soon became one of the premier netminders in the conference, making an astounding 50 saves in 13 games and quickly developing a strong rapport with her teammates.
“It was pretty stressful being thrown into it, there was a lot of hesitancy, and I definitely had to find my voice,” Filek said. “With the girls, I really got into it fast because we had such chemistry and everyone was so vocal. So it made me very comfortable to be vocal as well. Once I found my voice, I got more confident in myself. And I feel like that showed with how I played.”
Forward Julia Makoloski also emerged as one of the team’s brightest young talents, scoring two goals and recording two assists in her 2024 rookie campaign. Makoloski became notorious for her intensity, pace and precise touch, soon becoming the primary focus of opposing defences and attracting more contact. She credited team veteran Isabella Chirico for helping her through her first season and enjoyed the ups and downs of her first season thoroughly.
“Playing at the collegiate level was very competitive and there were obviously a lot of challenges, dealing with small knocks on the way, but otherwise, I really enjoyed it,” Makoloski said. “I have to give a lot of credit to Bella, taking that stress off of me and taking on extra players so I could have a little bit more freedom.”
This team expects to make this year’s Canada West playoffs, but to Fusco, the culture of being an MRU Cougar is about so much more than what happens on the field.
“The foundation of who we are is that we want good character. Good people, high academic, but then also very competitive on the pitch,” Fusco said. “Ideally, it’s about being a good teammate. It’s being a good human. That’s something that we strive for, and of course, we want to win a championship.”
With their season just kicking off, hopes are high for the MRU Cougars women’s soccer team, who hope to continue to develop their young talent, maximize their veterans’ capabilities and make more than just an appearance in this year’s Canada West playoffs.
Men’s soccer
Having made two consecutive trips to the U SPORTS National Championship and won a conference championship two years ago, the MRU Cougars men’s soccer team have become accustomed to excellence in recent years. However, many of the biggest names from the team’s recent playoff runs have moved on, with some graduating and even playing at the professional level. According to 11th-year Head Coach Ryan Gyaki, though, there are plenty of new faces to fill those boots.
“The names obviously make coaching easier for sure, but there are a lot of good names that people just don’t know because they’re young,” Gyaki said. “Every season it doesn’t matter what the name is on the roster sheet, it’s what the MRU badge, what we want as a team and the effort, to work for each other is number one.”
One of those young names is Chanan Chanda, who has steadily made a career for himself through the Calgary Cavalry and its League1 Alberta U21 team. The striker, who has appeared in ten Canadian Premier League matches, has already integrated himself into the offence, scoring two goals in his first weekend. He expressed a readiness for the lofty expectations of this successful team and wants to bring more silverware to MRU’s trophy cabinets.
“The program is incredible and the players are incredible,” Chanda said. “Ryan’s done such a good job with putting a team together this season. This team can compete with any team in Canada. We’re just going to stick together because as long the team’s together, it’ll do just fine.”
In addition to recruiting bright young stars to MRU, Gyaki has promoted his longer-tenured players to newer, bigger roles, including Finn Marshall, who was named team captain for the 2025 season. According to Gyaki, Marshall has had an immediate impact as leader of the team.
“We saw it straight from when he first showed up, how he interacted with the team and how he would always see problems and address them. And then we worked with him over the few years to not just address them, but also fix them on the field,” Gyaki said. “When you’ve got leaders that have an incredible desire to win, whether it be five-on-five training or a beach volleyball tournament, that translates to when you step onto the field in that 11 v 11 match.”
Since joining the highest ranks of Canadian collegiate competition in 2012, MRU has been an underdog in U SPORTS and Canada West, but with 13 years of experience under their belt, Gyaki believes this team has established a dominant culture off the field that will propel it to more success.
“More importantly than what’s done on the field is the culture off the field, to always pull on flags, to always try to fulfill our potential as people and as students and as athletes,” Gyaki said. “That’s number one, and from there, if you do that, well, good things happen. For me, the culture is about staying grounded and wanting to grow and fulfill your potential in all aspects.”
With two wins on the season already and plenty of teams hunting them down, the Cougars will bank on their mix of savvy veterans and bright young talent to stay in the upper echelon of Canada West men’s soccer. Home games are free for MRU students to attend and all games are broadcasted on Canada West TV. For the full version of this article, check out thereflector.ca or The Reflector App.
