The Western Mustangs women’s lacrosse continued to establish themselves as a dominating force over the weekend with victories over McMaster and Laurier on Homecoming Weekend. On Saturday the ladies celebrated their own Homecoming victories with a 16-3 victory over McMaster and a 10-9 win against Laurier.
Early on in the weekend it was clear that Mustangs were coming into the weekend well prepared and ready to play. They started strong against McMaster, scoring three consecutive goals all within the first four minutes of the game. The Marauders responded with two of their own and Western was forced to work for a first half victory, coming together to finish the half 10-3.
In the second half Mustangs demonstrated defensive strength and excellent goaltending from both veteran Cait Mancuso and freshman keeper Caroline Hendrick, shutting out McMaster ending the second half with a 6-0 score. Lead by Michelle Farrugia (4G, 0A) there were strong goal scoring performances from both veteran and freshman players including Tenyka Snider (3G, 0A) and Emmi Morris (3G, 0A).
Later in the day Mustangs were forced to earn their victory against Laurier, coming back from a 6-2 deficit. Western struggled to find the net hitting four goal posts, eventually warming up and finishing the half 7-4 in favor of the Golden Hawks. The game was extremely physical, with Laurier taking four yellow cards and two reds but the Mustangs persevered, demonstrating their skill and adaptability.
Western had a strong start to the second half, coming back to take a 9-7 lead in the final four minutes. The game was close, with Tawnie Johnson (3G, 0A) scoring the winning goal with 30 seconds left in the game and leading her team to a 10-9 victory. Coach Dave Hastings was extremely proud of his team stating “We struggled early with some bad breaks but the team showed their skill, speed and toughness. This was a great comeback win and shows just how strong this team is.”
The Mustangs are back in action this Saturday, traveling to Hamilton for games against Brock and Guelph.
