SOC: Three-point weekends earn MRU, GMU forwards weekly honours

CALGARY – Mount Royal's Mohamed El Gandour and MacEwan's Grace Mwasalla were named the Canada West Soccer Players of the Week by the conference on Tuesday.

El Gandour repeats as the Player of the Week after playing a key part in each of the Cougars' three goals that gifted them wins over Pacific Division favourites, UBC and TWU this weekend.

The fourth-year forward began his campaign with a highlight reel goal Saturday. He made a swift move past a UBC defender, turned on the jets and blasted one into the far side of the T-Birds' net.

His goal stood as the lone mark in the game, giving MRU their fifth win of the season. He followed it up with another game-opening score Sunday against Trinity Western. The Cougars' captain struck a well-placed shot off a pass from teammate Alex Kemsley.

El Gandour was hot all weekend, buzzing around the net with six shots on goal. The Spartans, determined to stop him, were given a red card after an El Gandour scoring chance. This let the forward line up a penalty shot, which was saved, but Skylar Rogers buried the rebound.

El Gandour's two goals and his assist helped the Cougars to 1-0 and 2-0 victories against tough Pacific Division rivals.

He and Mount Royal will be back in action Friday at 7:15 p.m. PDT, as they travel to take on the UBCO Heat. You can catch the game exclusively on Canada West TV.

Game log:
​Sept. 17: 1 goals, 4 shots, 2 SOG in 1-0 W vs UBC
​Sept. 18: 1 goal, 1 assist, 7 shots, 4 SOG in 2-0 W vs TWU

Meanwhile, Grace Mwasalla was having a weekend of her own, opening the Griffins' scoring Saturday when her shot deflected off a defender and passed the keeper. She then fielded a pass, used her body to get it past the defence, and stretched out to strike it home for a skillful goal.

Mwasalla's two goals helped the Griffins to a 3-0 victory over the visiting UNBC Timberwolves, simultaneously pushing MacEwan's record above .500 and the T-Wolves' record below the mid mark.

The second-year forward followed her two-goal performance up with another show, netting the only goal in a tight affair with the Calgary Dinos Sunday. Mwasalla streaked through the middle, controlling the ball in her few quick strides before finishing inside the right post.

With the goal, the Griffins handed the Dinos just their second loss of the year.

Mwasalla's three-goal weekend bolstered the defending national champs up to 4-2-0 on the season.

She and the Griffins will be back in action Saturday at noon, when they travel down to Lethbridge for a provincial match-up. You can catch the game exclusively on Canada West TV.

Game log:
​Sept. 18: 2 goals, 4 shots, 3 SOG in 3-0 W vs UNBC
​Sept. 19: 1 goals, 3 shots, 3 SOG in 1-0 W vs CGY