London, Ont.– The Western Mustangs hosted the Brock Badgers Women's Soccer Team for a tightly contested match on Sunday afternoon at Mustangs Field. The offense was hard to come by for both teams early, as both sides put on a defensive exhibition throughout the entire game, but the Mustangs ultimately came out on top at 1-0.

Despite the stagnant offence on both sides, Western had managed to get off two early shots on goal, one each from Paige Howard and Stefanie Di Tella, but both were unable to capitalize. Brock midfielder, Melanie Schouten, made a large impact with two shots on goal midway through the first half, but Megan Brown turned aside both attempts.

Physical play was commonplace throughout the game, as Brock was awarded three free kicks before the ten-minute mark of the game, and many more followed for both teams as the game went on. The first half concluded with Western leading 7-4 on shot attempts, yet both teams remained scoreless at the end of the first half.

Brock opened the second half with a strong offensive run, attempting four shots within a six-minute stretch. Celine DaCosta highlighted Brock's closest scoring chance of the game at the eighty-two-minute mark, but Brown would make the save in order to keep the game tied 0-0.

The only goal of the game would come within the final ten minutes of play when Jenna White converted an assist from Di Tella to give the Mustangs a 1-0 win. 

Mustangs head coach Martin Painter praised Brock's defensive schemes, saying that "they're a well organized team, they defend very well, and they're dangerous on the counter-attack. They made it difficult for us to penetrate."

For Brown, her defensive teammates were the ones deserving of praise as she noted that "they defended really well. We stayed compact, we moved as a unit, and we only played safe balls."

As well as both teams played, Painter acknowledged a need to "[…] improve on both sides of the ball," as the team continues their start to a promising season.

The Badgers now stand 0-0-2 through two games, while the Mustangs improved their record to 1-0-1 after the win. Western will be back in action on Wednesday night when they host the Windsor Lancers at Mustangs Field.