LONDON, Ont. - The Western Mustangs hope to keep the winning streak against the Laurier Golden Hawks alive, entering the Saturday Nov. 7 OUA semifinal matchup with the host Hawks at 4:30 p.m. 

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In a rematch of Week 2 - which Western won 30-7 - the Mustangs will lean on their balanced offence and improved defence to play a Golden Hawks team which scored its only points against Western in the regular-season meeting in the final minute.

Western head coach Greg Marshall said he hopes momentum from a strong defensive game against Guelph will carry over into the OUA semifinal

"I think that our defence is getting to play with more confidence," Marshall said. "We are young on defence and we have had to make some adjustments with injuries on defensive line... our defence played well against Guelph."

While the Mustangs might have preferred to have the first-round bye and avoid playing the quarter-final against Guelph, Marshall said there is a positive side to it.

"There are some advantages to playing (the quarter-final game). Our defence gained some confidence," Marshall said. "Would we have wanted the bye and got our guys some rest, sure. But it is what it is."

"If you are going to be a good football team at this time of year, you have to be able to deal with these kinds of things. We have to come out on Saturday and play some good, solid football."

Marshall said the test for Western's defence will be in dealing with the size of the offensive line and preventing the run. The Mustangs' starting defence contained Evan Pawliuk (Kingston, Ont.) when he relieved now-injured starter Luke Thompson, and the left-handed pivot scored the Hawks' only touchdown on a long-bomb late against Western's second-string defence.

"They are pretty balanced offensively. They can run the football, they're big up front, they have lots of weapons at receiver," Marshall said. "It gives Evan Pawliuk opportunities because they have some athletes who can run and catch the football."

"He (Pawliuk) plays within himself," Marshall said. "He's not going to try to go out there and win the game himself. He makes plays. He plays under control. We just have to make plays on defence. We have to know our assignments and control the ball. If anything, this game will be won and lost on the defensive and offensive lines."

The Mustangs have developed more balance since the Week 2 meeting. 

"Offensively we are more diverse than we were in Week 2... coming off a short training camp and short Week 1," Marshall said. "It (the offence in Week 2) was pretty basic. Laurier has evolved but we have evolved too."

Western, playing Guelph in windy conditions, relied on Nathan Riva's season-high 171-yard performance to control the clock and create scoring plays in the OUA quarter-final.

"You have to be able to (turn to the running game) at this time of year," Marshall said. "You are going into the wind and as significant as wind was on our game on Saturday you want to make sure you keep the clock running and the quarter you go into wind you want it to be as short as possible." 

"You'll run the ball more," he said. "You need to have a solid running game; we've stressed that all year with balance. We do have the ability to run the ball if we need to."

Both of Western's OUA semifinal road wins at Laurier paved the path to Vanier Cup in 1979 and 1994. The Mustangs have lost the last three playoff meetings at Laurier, but won in their most recent playoff meeting, the 2008 OUA semifinal held at TD Waterhouse Stadium.