Box Score LONDON, Ont. – The Mustangs started their regular season off with a bang on Saturday afternoon, netting eight goals in the first half and never looking back on their way to a 17-0 victory over the Algoma Thunderbirds at Mustangs Field.

"It was good to get everyone involved," said Mustangs head coach Martin Painter after the game. "Scoring goals is always good, building some confidence. In terms of how we moved offensively and how we moved the ball and executed in certain situations, I thought it was good, obviously we're going to have some tougher tests moving forward but still good early on to get some success and build some confidence."

Fresh off their first overall finish and a trip to the CIS nationals in 2013, the Mustangs opened the 2014 season by welcoming the Thunderbirds to the OUA after their transfer from the OCAA. Algoma's debut may not have gone exactly as planned but they fought until the end and got a number of quality stops from their goalie, Lauren Moore.

Paige Howard and Aoi Ichiyama led the Mustangs attack in the first half, scoring two goals apiece and firing five of Western's 13 shots. Four other players-- Meghan Glibbery, Abbey Young, Tianna Deluzio, and Amanda Boyle—contributed with goals of their own before half-time.

Western's big first-half advantage was due in large part to their sharp passing and quality communication on the field—in other words, a good offense is the best defense—but the Mustangs also made sure to stay sharp on defense. Algoma had trouble getting any breathing room, finding themselves unable to register a shot through the first half and experiencing the same struggles in the second.

The Mustangs, on the other hand, didn't lose their touch in the second half, adding eight more goals before time ran out for good. Stephanie Di Tella, Grace Grafham, Julia Crnjic each chimed in with two second-half tallies while Jess Friend and Amy Lintack also scored for the purple and white. Crnjic's second half goal completed her hat-trick—Western's only of the afternoon.

After the game, coach Painter spoke about keeping things tight in a game so wide open.

"In one-sided games like that there's a danger that things get sloppy but overall I thought we did a good job of trying to move the ball quickly, getting different players involved, and using the game as well as we can to get prepared for the tougher games we're going to have" Painter said.

The Mustangs will take back to the field on Sunday against Algoma with a chance to improve to 2-0 on the season. The game will take place at Mustangs Field with start time set for 1:00 p.m.