TORONTO, Ont. – The Western Mustangs field hockey team split their games this past weekend at Varsity Stadium, falling to the Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday before shutting out the Waterloo Warriors on Sunday.
 
Western started things off with a hard fought contest against the hometown Varsity Blues on Saturday, playing a strong game against the 2012 CIS Silver Medalists.
 
Toronto opened the scoring early in the game by crossing the ball through the circle, where Teagan Stairs hit it into the open net. Despite playing a good first half that included 16 circle entries but unfortunately the Mustangs would end the half down by a goal. 
 
Just over eight minutes into the second half, Western capitalized on a short corner as Jennifer Chisnall pulled the ball out to the top of the circle to Katelynn Roganowicz who hit the ball towards the net. Lauren Mackenzie picked up the rebound and buried the ball in the top of the net, to tie the game 1-1. 
 
Western dominated the half, however Toronto were able to make the most of the opportunities they had. Just four minutes after Western's goal, Stairs had possession of the ball outside of Western's defending circle; she passed across to Alex Thicke who hit the ball and Ally Evanyshyn tipped it past Western goalie Bethan Blackburn to give the Varsity Blues a 2-1 lead.
 
Toronto's third and final goal came off of a short corner as Emma stairs took a straight shot that went in the corner of the net, making the final score 3-1 for Toronto.
 
The Mustangs bounced back on Sunday afternoon as they faced Waterloo in their final matchup of the weekend. Early in the game, the Warriors received a stroke; Steph Snyder flicked the ball to the bottom left corner but Western goalie, Bethan Blackburn, made a diving save to keep the game scoreless. 
 
A short five minutes later, Western was awarded a stroke at the other end of the field. Roganowicz received her first of two goals from the weekend as she flicked the ball knee high to the left corner of the net.
 
Western carried that momentum forward and increased the score to 2-0 just minutes later. Midfielder Leah Burke received the ball near the half line of the field and hit it up to Roganowicz who then entered the circle creating a scoring opportunity. Once again Mackenzie jumped on a rebound and received her second goal of the weekend sending the Mustangs into the half with a 2-0 lead.
 
Just minutes into the second, Roganowicz got her second goal of the game as she tipped a ball over the line, giving the Mustangs a 3-0 lead that the team would never relinquish.
 
Mustangs dominated the second half with 14 circle entries and eight shots on net. They maintained possession of the ball; making switches between the defence up to the forwards all game.
 
Western head coach Jeff Pacheco commented that the team is continuing to grow as a unit and you are starting to see consistent play making throughout all levels. We are becoming more and more difficult to defend".
 
Western looks to keep their momentum going next weekend at the University of Guelph as they take on the York Lions and Guelph Gryphons on September 28th and 29th.