EDMONTON - Tamara Djurisic and Caitlin Viera scored an impressive goal each to help the MRU Cougars defeat the Alberta Pandas 2-0 in style at Foote Field Sunday afternoon.

Both goals were phenomenal, curling efforts from outside of the box that were able to sneak past Alberta keeper Autumn Wynn who, despite the loss, also impressed saving five of seven shots on the day. Cougars keeper Ella Filek saved all four shots that came her way en route to her third clean sheet of the season.

It was a back-and-forth affair, with the two sides each holding dominant spells of possession. The Cougars, however, were able to do more with their chances, outshooting the Pandas 16-10 (7-4 on target) and attempting more set pieces to boot.

With the victory, MRU exorcises their loss from yesterday and moves to 6-1-1 on the season, and are still hot on their intra-city rivals' tail for the top spot in the Prairie Division. Alberta moves to 3-3-2, and holds the fourth and final playoff position in the division, though a winless weekend allows the Regina Cougars to inch closer.

The first 10 minutes was all Cougars, as after a brief spell of possession to start the game the Pandas were unable to break a MRU press that produced three early shots on goal. They were all parried by Alberta keeper Autumn Wynn, who on the first save of the day reached 200 career saves, an impressive feat for the fifth-year veteran. The visitor pressure would not stop there, however, as their high press was generating plenty of turnovers and the Pandas struggled to link their passes together. The Cougar press culminated in a long-range, curling goal from Tamara Djurisic after she won possession from the Pandas defence. It was a beautiful goal, her fifth of the season, and it put the visitors up 1-0 in the 30th-minute. However, the Pandas seemed to get energized after conceding as just ten minutes later a long ball from the Pandas ended up drawing a penalty kick after some contact in the box. Wanda Czebreszuk stepped up with a missile to the right side, but Cougar keeper Ella Filek was stellar making a diving stop to keep MRU up by one which is how it would stay into the half. 

Alberta continued to look for the equalizer in the second half, with Kelli Haffie among others impressing giving Alberta some dangerous chances in the MRU half. However, the Cougars would see another phenomenal goal in the 70th-minute off the boot of Caitlyn Vieira, who struck it from just outside the box and curled it just inside the top right corner for her first of the year, an absolute beauty, to make it 2-0 MRU. The Pandas would get a few more chances, but the Cougars were able to effectively prevent any goal scoring opportunities as this one ended 2-0.

Next weekend, the Pandas travel out east to take on the Regina Cougars and Saskatchewan Huskies, while the Cougars are back home to take on the Lethbridge Pronghorns in a two-game set.