The 2025-26 Mount Royal Cougars men’s soccer team is fresh off its second Canada West National Championship last weekend in a heartbreaking loss against the York Lions in a snowy Toronto game at Varsity Stadium.
This was the second national championship outing in three years for the men’s Cougars Soccer team.
Although they lost in the finale, that does not detract from the fact that men’s soccer at Mount Royal University has been nothing short of dominant over the past few seasons.
This year’s team in particular was special. It was a true Cinderella story, marked by numerous dramatic moments, including games that came down to the wire, penalties, and countless overtime heroics from players across the team. There is no doubt this team has a bright future ahead, and this will be a season to build and come back from.
Jumping back to the beginning of the season, however, there was some heavy uncertainty surrounding this team due to the sizable roster shakeup over the offseason.
Star player Miguel Da Rocha and goaltender Aidan Doumilion both moved on from the team, which opened the door for many young players to step up and grow into new roles.
This youth movement was one of the many factors that propelled this Cougars squad back to the national stage.
Building the future: A rookie’s breakout season
One of the young players who found his footing on the team this year was the recruited rookie defender Alexander Cameron.
For Cameron, the game of soccer runs through his blood. He has been playing soccer since he was three years old and has worked his way up through the ranks to become a university athlete in Canada.
A Calgary native, Cameron spent five seasons developing his game with the Calgary Rangers youth program.
Once he came of age, he was recruited to the U21 Calgary Calvary development pipeline, where he found a spot as a member of the MRU Cougars.
He began his rookie campaign with an imposing start, logging big minutes in helping anchor the back end as the Cougars started the season 3-0-1, before he went down with an injury that kept him limited to only 10 games this season.
Cameron is an exceptional defender with plenty of upside who earned his opportunities this year with the coaches, who gave him consistent starts. With those opportunities to play on the field, he proved that he can be a reliable defensive option for the team.
Cameron is a player to watch as he enters his second season next year for the Cougars with a very promising rookie campaign under his belt.
Here is a Q&A on his upbringing, his opinions on his team and how he has balanced being a student-athlete here at MRU during his first season as a university athlete.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
You grew up in Calgary. What has the soccer culture been like here and what was it like coming up through the ranks?
Coming up, I played in lots of Calgary clubs. It was really supportive, especially at clubs like Rangers and the youth clubs. You kind of start from the bottom and realise there is a ladder to climb at each club. I started at Ranger, and I worked really hard to get to the top. Then, eventually, to Calvary U21’s in the summer. Again, I had to climb another ladder, and now I am at the bottom of another ladder, being a rookie at Mount Royal.
How does it feel to be on the USports level and be able to find so much success as a rookie?
It felt good because I’ve heard of other rookies not getting playtime right off the start, and I was able to make a debut in our first game. Getting minutes at any level, being a first-year or second-year, is really important, I feel, for development. There is a new level of physicality; everyone’s older than you. Some of these guys are six years older than me, and I’m going against them right on, but I’m all for it because I’m younger and I’ll try to use my youthfulness to work harder than them.
You did play for the Calgary Rangers. What was that experience like that shaped you into the player you are today for MRU?
There was a lot of connection through Rangers and MRU, so my coaches helped me get in contact with MRU by saying how I was coming through the academy at Rangers, working hard, and doing all the extra stuff that I could.
They then pushed me through and kept getting connections through the summer with MRU. Eventually, it came to preseason, and I was recruited to the team. I arrived about a week ahead of everybody else here at the university, and I was about the only person walking the hallways then, which is a lot different from now. You forget how big the university is.
Are you the type of player to set out goals for yourself, or do you focus more on team success? Where are you when it comes to that balance?
I’m usually a pretty big goal setter, individually and team-wise as well. There’s always something that I’d be working towards because there’s always going to be, especially as a rookie, there’s always going to be someone in front of me that has a starting spot that I could always strive for.
Personally, I’ve been working a lot harder than I did at most places. This is because every time you take a step up, you have to change your work rate. Work grade is key; that’ll take you far as you go into it. So, for me, I want to stay with that goal. As a team, we have been very successful. For me, team success is always the first thing on my mind. Always putting the team first, if there’s an opportunity on the field, I want to give it to a teammate; it’ll happen because we want to win at the end of the day.
Playing as a back in head coach Ryan Gyaki’s system, what has been his advice to you as a playmaker coming from a defensive standpoint?
As a defensive player, I have been put in the left back role, so I’ve been able to roam up and down the side playing like a winger as well. So I’ve been the target if I go for a long ball, which again, I’m young, I just have to use that fitness to execute those plays. So they would find that a lot, they also use centre-backs really well to find those long balls to wingers, and then we use our wide channels like that. We have found lots of success this season.
As for Ryan, I’ve found a lot of support and anything I have a question about something or am struggling with anything, he’ll always have an answer for me. He’s been a very good coach to me and very helpful through such a successful season. The team environment is really strong; the team, coaches, and everyone around are working very well together, working hard, pushing each other to new levels.
How was it like having Alex Kemsely as your captain this season?
He has a lot of passion, he’s a big guy, big centre, loves the header. I haven’t seen him lose the header the entire season, and it’s been good to have him because he’s usually on the left side with me when I get subbed in, so having him as a support with stuff like if I’m too far wide to tuck in, the small things like that. He’s also been there to help strengthen my defensive abilities, which I’ve found very helpful throughout this season.
What type of advice have you received from either teammates or coaches on balancing the student life with your soccer career?
The biggest advice has been to stay ahead. At the beginning of the season, I was reading over course schedules and realising when what’s due right now. It has been a new thing for me, but I’ve always been told to get ahead and not let it slide to the last second because that’s when the struggle happens. I have had a lot of support from older teammates who have studied with me, helped me through it, so it’s been good.
A star in the making
As the Cougars look ahead to the 2026 season filled with championship hopes, Cameron stands out as one of the programs brightest young players.
His first year as a Cougar showcased his ability to compete on the university level and revealed his potential of the star he could he could one day blossom into.
With a strong team around him and excellent work ethic, Cameron displays the next generation of Cougars soccer at MRU.
If his rookie season serves any indication of the player he is, Mount Royal can expect to see more of Alex Cameron for seasons to come.
