LONDON, Ont. - Strong defence and lucky bounces aided the Western Mustangs on Friday as they remained perfect with a 2-0 win over the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Ridgebacks at TD Waterhouse Stadium.

With the victory, the No. 2 nationally ranked Mustangs improve to 9-0-1 on the season.

Mike Sawchuk and Jagger Hassan scored the Western goals, while Andrew Murdoch earned his eighth shutout of the season in 10 starts making three saves and forcing four wide shots.

Western dominated the early possession and was the better team throughout the contest, but timely goalkeeping, a lucky bounce and solid defence aided them to victory.

Ian Meaghar missed a great opportunity in the opening 10 minutes when his volley off tic-tac-toe passing failed to find the net. But after some favourable bounces, the Mustangs got into an attacking position seconds later, keeping the pressure on UOIT's defence to create the game's first goal.

It came with Meaghar loosely marked in the box. Jagger Hassan's through-ball from the wing bounced twice in the six-yard box without even reaching Meaghar, eventually deflecting off Ridgebacks defender Nikolas Pandikiu and then into the net for a 1-0 Western lead.

Western then began to take some risks, and it nearly resulted in a game-tying counterattack from UOIT.
Later in the half, speedy Ridgebacks stricker Justin Gordon got in on a partial breakaway but Murdoch slid out to take the shot away to keep Western up 1-0.

Western midfielder Eric Amato nearly gave Western a 2-0 lead late in the half with a direct free kick form 40-yards out but Andrew Thompson made a great save on a rising bullet, punching the ball over the crossbar.

The Mustangs had seven first-half corners and had their foot on the gas pedal but could not covert more than once.

In the second half, the Mustangs extended the lead, taking advantage of a poor decision from two UOIT defenders who chose to try to run the ball out instead of simply booting it up field.

Sawchuk eventually stole the ball from the feet of UOIT defender Santiago Rioja, dribbling the ball into the 18-yard box and curving it low into the bottom left corner to extend the lead to 2-0 for Western.

With about 20 minutes remaining, Western fullback Paul D'Amario made a great tackle to take away another partial breakaway from UOIT striker Gordon just as he was about to plant for a shot at the top of the 18-yard box. Western withstood that and several rushes, and Murdoch provided timely goalkeeping to hold on for the 2-0 victory.

Amato, who had another opportunity to score and stretch the lead to 3-0 with a direct free-kick from 35 yards out, was like a magician with the ball throughout the match and drew several gasps from the crowd.

Gordon had one last chance to score after deking past two Mustangs defenders. But he missed the net with Murdoch aggressively cutting down the angle, forcing the UOIT striker to miss the net low.
Western hosts Waterloo at 3:15 p.m. at TD Waterhouse Stadium.