The Western Mustangs women’s field hockey team traveled to Guelph on Homecoming Weekend for a pair of games against the York Lions and Guelph Gryphons. The Mustangs played tough over the two days, splitting the games, picking up a win over York before losing to the host Gryphons.
 
Western’s first game of the weekend was early Saturday morning against York University. Second-year forward Jessica Crawford scored an early goal to put the Mustangs up 1-0 which would be the only offence of the first half. The Lions scored a quick goal after half to even the score at 1. The Mustangs and the Lions scored a goal a piece to keep the majority of the game at a tie. Western took control and dominated the latter part of the game, with great ball receptions and distribution between midfields Anne Wozney and Lauren Mackenzie. Goalie Shanshan Tian kept her defense in check and entertained the crowd with lots of communication. A beautiful series of passes originating from the backfield lead Jennifer Chisnall to feed a pass to Crawford, who finished the game with a hat-trick. Final score was a 3-2 win for the mustangs.
 
On Sunday, the Mustangs took on the weekend’s host, the University of Guelph. The Gryphons scored two goals early in the game but despite being down by two goals, the Mustangs continued to fight hard. Great saves from second-year goalie Bethan Blackburn and her fellow defenders kept the game at 2-0 at halftime. Despite solid ball receptions and shots from Katelynn Roganowicz, the Mustangs were unable to score. The team conceded two more goals, finishing with a 4-0 loss.
 
“The team is starting to gel very well many aspects are staring to click,” says head coach Jeff Pacecho. “Over the next few games we should gain the right momentum for a deep run in the OUAs." The team has five more regular season games spread over two weekends to secure a birth to OUA Championships, which will take place at the University of Waterloo from October 26-28.