LONDON, Ont. – The Western Mustangs used a four-goal surge in the first half to cruise to a 6-0 win over the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) in an OUA Quarter-Final matchup on Friday afternoon at TD Waterhouse Stadium.
The win earned the Mustangs a trip to the semifinals, where they will meet the University of Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 8 p.m.
The Mustangs were simply too much for the UPEI Panthers on Friday. By the time the first half came to a close, Western had tallied four goals.
“I just think we played with our speed, and we played a little bit of a physical game out there,” said Western head coach Jeff Pacheco. “I think we outmatched them a little bit.”
Michelle Weber opened the scoring just seven minutes into the game. The first-team all-star then notched another goal in the 17th minute to put the Mustangs up 2-0. That prompted Panthers head coach Sheila Bell to make a change at goalkeeper, as rookie Bethany Nicholson replaced Katie Lezeu.
Nicholson made some big saves as Western continued their offensive pressure. But eventually the Mustangs solved the rookie keeper, as Louise Radford put one past Nicholson in the 33rd minute to make it 3-0. Megan Scraper then scored just a minute later to give Western a four-goal lead.
The Mustangs cruised in the second half en route to the win. Radford and Scraper each added another goal to round out the scoring.
With the win, Western will now play Toronto in an OUA semifinal match on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 8 p.m.
“It’s going to be a big game. This is the opportunity we’ve been waiting for,” said Pacheco. “In previous years, we ended up matching up against Guelph in the semis, and we play U of T a little bit better.”
The Mustangs and Varsity Blues played twice in the regular season this year, with the teams tying 2-2 on Oct. 3 and Toronto winning 3-1 on Oct. 25. However, Western did manage to beat the Blues 3-0 in a pre-season game.
“It’s a pure rubber match coming up,” Pacheco said. “This is what we’ve been preparing for all year long, really, and it’s going to come down to finally the game we’ve been waiting for.”
The winner of Saturday’s semifinal will earn a berth to the 2009 CIS Championships in Victoria next weekend. Toronto has been a regular at that event in recent years, but it would be a brand new experience for Western.
“CIS has been our goal for the last three years,” Pacheco said. “It would mean a lot to the girls to get there, and we’re going to put everything we have into it.”
The UPEI Panthers, meanwhile, will hit the field again on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 9 a.m. for the OUA consolation final against the Waterloo Warriors, who lost their Quarter-Final game (1-0) against the York Lions on Friday.
2009 OUA Field Hockey Championship - Updated Scores and Schedule after Day 1
Friday, Oct. 30
York 1 Waterloo 0 (Quarter-Final)
Western 6 UPEI 0 (Quarter-Final)
Saturday, Oct. 31 – TD Waterhouse Stadium
9 a.m. - Waterloo vs. UPEI (Consolation Final)
6 p.m. - Guelph vs. York (Semifinal)
8 p.m. - Toronto vs. Western (Semifinal)
Sunday, Nov. 1 – TD Waterhouse Stadium
11 a.m. - OUA Bronze-Medal Game
1 p.m. - OUA Gold-Medal Game
