LONDON, Ont. – Opening up the post-season with a bang, the Mustangs recorded a substantial 64-19 victory over the Laurier Golden Hawks at Alumni Field on Saturday afternoon. Outscoring their opponents 272-158 throughout the regular and post season, Western will continue the fight for an OUA banner into next week.
 
"We wanted to play the best 'Western ball' we could, but this is an entirely new season," said head coach Katie Baer.
 
"[Western ball] is a high speed, high intensity kind of play. Our line speed today against Laurier, it made the other team not want to play. We play a high-pace game, that's what we tried to achieve and it's what we strive for every game."
 
With the loss, Laurier has been eliminated from the OUA playoffs, and finishes the season with a combined 3-3 regular season and playoff record.
 
Paige Farries topped both sides of the scoresheet, recording 20 points from four tries. All four of her tries resulted in successful converts, with three being planted centrally for an easy kick.
 
Close behind was Andrea Bowra, who recorded 14 points from seven converts. Also putting up purple and white points were Veronica Harrigan, Ashley Snider, Dagmar Walklen, Nikki Case, Hilary Dingman, and Olivia Murphy.
 
Laurier took control of the game early on, picking up the ball in their own end and handing it off to rookie Jessica Smith. Running the ball out of the Golden Hawk half, she outran every Mustang defender to plant the ball in the center of the in-goal area. Jennifer Gilmore followed up with a successful convert.
 
Taking the early score as motivation, the Mustangs kicked it into high gear. Case was the first to respond with a try, but Harrigan put another on the board for Western a minute later with a successful kick from Bowra.
 
Twelve minutes into the game and the Mustangs were up 12-7.
 
The following 28 minutes were dominated by Western. Four more tries were posted – all with subsequent converts. At the close of the first 40, the Mustangs had a 40-7 lead over the Golden Hawks.
 
The flow of purple and white points slowed in the second half – no longer averaging one point per minute – but that didn't prevent the Mustangs from controlling the final half.
 
The game was again largely concentrated towards the Golden Hawk end, with the Mustangs running through the opposing defenders. Dingman and Farries put up tries in quick succession, hardly giving Laurier time to reset. 
 
It wasn't until the 68 minute mark that Laurier was able to break back on the board, earning their first points of the second half.
 
Western countered with yet another try, but wasn't able to hold off the Golden Hawk offence anymore. With just minutes remaining Laurier managed to put up another seven points, bringing the final score to 64-19.
 
The Mustangs are back in action next Saturday to compete in the OUA Semi-Finals against McMaster in maroon territory. The victor will progress to the gold medal game, while the team picking up a loss will fight for bronze.