LONDON, Ont.  -  The Western Mustangs women's rugby team lost their season opener to the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday afternoon, falling 11-10 in a closely matched game at Alumni Field.
 
After the game, Mustangs Head Coach Natascha Wesch was positive about her team's effort.
 
"Obviously we left a few pieces out there but for the first game of the season we're really happy," Wesch said. "We've been working on this for five years now and brought in a whole new set of players and we've been building since then."
 
The Gryphons controlled the play throughout much of the first half, keeping the ball within the purple and white defensive zone. However, they were unable to break through the Mustang defense, leaving the score at 0-0 at half-time.
 
The second half was a different story though, as both teams refocused and aggressively fought to control the play.  
 
Kendra Blackbourn of the Gryphons earned the first points of the game with a penalty kick in the 42nd minute, followed closely by a try from Guelph's Devin Stober just over three minutes later. Western took just under 10 minutes to respond, with Danielle Spice carrying in the Mustangs first try of the season to bring the score to 5-8.
 
Guelph would add a penalty kick in the 66 minute to push the score to 11-5 but Western wasn't ready to thrown in the towel just yet, as Lori Josephson added a try in the 69th minute to bring the Mustangs to within one.
 
Unfortunately, that would be as close as the Mustangs would get on the afternoon. Still, Wesch had seen enough to be satisfied with her team's play.
 
"We're really happy with the fire these girls bring, with their intensity, and most importantly the talent that they have," Wesch said.
 
The Mustangs are back in action on September 13 in St. Catharine's against the Brock Badgers. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m.