LONDON, Ont. – Goaltender Tori Edgar stopped two shots in the shootout and scored a goal of her own to lead the Western Mustangs women's soccer team to a 1-0 (3-2 on penalty kicks) victory over the Queen's Gaels on Friday night at Huron Flats Field.
 
With the win the Mustangs advance to Sunday's OUA championship final and also clinch a berth in next week's CIS Championship in Toronto.
 
"Even though we didn't start well, we bounced back and got into the game and there were some great individual performances" said head coach Martin Painter.
 
Edgar was the star of the show of Friday night, not only scoring one goal and stopping two shots in the shootout, but also turning aside 10 shots in the 120 minutes of action leading up to it.
 
"[Tori's] complete game today was outstanding." said Mustangs head coach Martin Painter. "She provided good leadership, good decision making, good distribution, great saves, and then to save two penalty shots and score one, it's got to be one of the best all-around performances from a goaltender that I've ever seen."
 
It was the second time this season that the Mustangs and Gaels have met up on the pitch as Western downed the Gaels 1-0 at the Old Four Tournament during the pre-season.
 
Although the ball went back and forth between the ends for a large majority of the half, the Gaels took advantage of a slow Mustangs start and generated a number of opportunities for themselves. As the half wound down, the Mustangs were able to pick up their game and counter the Gaels defence with a number of scoring chances of their own. Despite strong efforts from both sides the game saw a scoreless first half going into the break.
 
In the second half Western's offence was able to move the ball down the field with a number of runs, but was unable to capitalize on their opportunities. Similarly, the Gaels continued to create a number of scoring chances but were unable to secure a spot on the scoreboard. As the final seconds ran down on the clock, neither the Mustangs nor the Gaels had taken the advantage, which sent the game into extra time.
 
It was clear that both teams were determined to take control of the game as the extra time began. Control of the ball was pinballed between both ends with the Mustangs generating a few close chances to take the lead.
 
The purple and white could not take advantage of any of their opportunities and it was Mustangs goaltender Tori Edgar that kept the Gaels from finding the back of the net, as she made two phenomenal saves in the late part of the second extra time period. At the end of the period, the match had remained scoreless, leaving the game to be decided by penalty kicks.
 
Edgar stopped the first Gaels shot, and then scored on the Mustangs first shot to give Western an early one-goal lead.
 
"It was my first time taking a penalty shot in a game," said Edgar. "There is no way we [were coming] this far this season to lose it there."
 
Western's Becca Jefferson and Jenna White scored on the next two shots for Western, putting the Mustangs up 3-1. After Lexi McKinty scored for Queen's to make it 3-2, Jaynie Vandewalle came within inches of putting the game away for Western, only to hit the crossbar. However the Gaels hit a crossbar of their own on the next shot, clinching the game for Western and sending the Mustangs to Sunday's championship final.
 
"We are out here on Sunday to play for the provincial championship and we are going to start that game as well as we possibly can," said Painter.
 
Sunday's OUA gold medal game will take place at 2:00 p.m. on Huron Flats Field. The bronze medal game between Carleton and Queen's is set for 11:00 a.m.