LONDON, Ont. - Mustangs goalie Ben Cowman earned himself a shutout on Saturday afternoon but he wasn't the only one, as Western played the Laurier Golden Hawks to a scoreless draw at Mustang Field.
 
The tie puts Western in fifth place in the OUA West Division, while Laurier is sits at sixth.
 
"Probably wasn't one of our best performances," said Western head coach Rock Basacco. "We certainly played a bit better in the second half. There was just a little more urgency in our play and a little bit better in terms of our technical skills. We didn't generate enough chances on goal to score. You should be able to create good quality chances throughout the game, as opposed to trying to win the game in the last five minutes. That's not the way to win games."
 
The entirety of the game saw few shots on net for both teams. Of Laurier's 11 shots, only six were on goal, and Cowman shut down all of them. On the other end of the field, Laurier's goalies Matthew Goncalves and Jovan Brudiu received only four shots on net, all of which they were able to stop.
 
The game was also fairly matched in possession. With the closeness in competition, the game got heated quickly. In the 18th minute of the game, Western's Taso Bujouves got the first of Western's four yellow cards. Seventeen minutes later, Tahrik Rodriques received the first of Laurier's three yellow cards.
 
Heading into the second half with no score on the board, the Mustangs cleaned up their game and played with the urgency that they lacked in the first half. Due to injuries, seven minutes were added at the end of the game. Most of that time was spent in front of Laurier's net but no shots were able to make it through.
 
Aaron Schneebeli, a key component of Western's defensive line, discussed what he thought the team needs to do moving forward.
 
"We need to work on keeping the ball a little bit better, and moving forward with the ball, creating chances, creating shots on net, and getting goals," said Schneebeli. "We have to come out with more intensity. We have to come out sharper, come out with more fight."
 
The Mustangs play at home again on Sunday, September 12 at 3:15 p.m. against the Waterloo Warriors.