HAMILTON, Ont. - The Western Mustangs women's lacrosse team continued their OUA winning streak on Saturday with two victories, defeating McMaster 17-4 and Queen's 14-4 to improve the team's record to 4-0.
 
The Mustangs started out against McMaster on Saturday morning and defied a relentless downpour to jump out and score 12 seconds into the game.  The Mustangs led the first half 8-0 until McMaster scored their first goal with five minutes to halftime. Western quickly bounced back, scoring three more goals to make the score 11-2 at the half. 
 
Nine minutes into the second half, the Marauders potted their third goal of the game, however Western responded quickly, scoring six unanswered goals.  McMaster scored one final goal in the last few minutes to make it a 17-4 final for the Mustangs. 
 
10 different goal scorers hit the score sheet for the Mustangs on Saturday morning with Tasha MacDonald (3G, 3A), Michelle Farrugia (4G, 1A), Becca Watson (3G, 1A) and Fran Bonomi leading the way in scoring with singles from Heather Pearson, Sheehan Mulholland, Tenyka Snider, Haley Liske, and Tawnie Johnson. Maddison Crowther also contributed to the assists Saturday morning.
 
Western head coach Dave Hastings was happy with his team's performance stating, "We were pleased to see the team ready to play [in such terrible conditions] and jump out early.  The team played a strong game and we seemed to clean up a few things on draws and loose balls this week."
 
Although the rain continued, Western took on the Queen's Gaels later in the day.  The Mustangs again started things off quickly, opening up the scoring two minutes into the game.  Queen's challenged the Mustangs, but Western was able to power through and score three goals in the last five minutes making the half time score 6-2 Western.
 
Western's persistent offence continued with a 6-0 run in the second half until Queen's scored with 11 minutes left to play.  Western scored two goals in the remaining minutes to contribute to a final score of 14-4.
 
Scorers for Western on Saturday afternoon included Michelle Farrugia (5G), Tawnie Johnson (3G, 1A), Tasha MacDonald (2G, 1A), Tenyka Snider (2G, 2A), Lauren Stewart (1G, 1A), Fran Bonomi (1G).
 
Sophomore Michelle Farrugia made a strong debut scoring nine goals this weekend.  Tasha MacDonald also a strong weekend with five goals and four assists in the two games.
 
"It was great to see the offence clicking this weekend but I was just as pleased to see the defense step it up in the second half and take control," said Hastings. "They recognized they needed to take it up a notch, made the adjustments and played great.  Kudos to the defence against Queen's."
 
With respect to goaltenders, Hastings said, "Caroline Hendrick and Cait Mancuso played very strong games against Mac and Queens respectively. Both were on point and played with confidence."
 
The Mustangs will take a bye week this coming weekend, and then continue October 6th with matches in Toronto against the Guelph Gryphons and McMaster Marauders.