Box Score LONDON, Ont. – Jace Kotsopoulos's two-goal second half brought the Mustangs' six game unbeaten streak to an end at Mustangs Field on Saturday afternoon, as the striker carried the Guelph Gryphons to their 2-0 victory.
 
"The first half was certainly a better half for us," said head coach Rock Basacco. "We kind of lost our discipline in the second half, and didn't make the right decisions. It hurt us in the second half, and they got two goals as a result of it."
 
"The first half we did well," added Chuka Ononye. "Second half, just a few mental errors. Maybe fatigue, it was quite hot outside, but unfortunately our mental errors and breakdowns led to two mistakes and two goals."
 
The loss is Western's first since their season opening game against McMaster, and moves their record to 4-2-2 for third place in the OUA West. Guelph's victory moves them to 4-1-2 for the season, topping the Mustangs in second place. York – who the Mustangs host tomorrow – currently sits first.
 
The first half saw the Mustangs making strong offensive drives towards Gryphon netminder Ben Caranci, but no one was able to hit their target with all four shots taken by Mustangs going wide.
 
"We had some great chances in the first half on set pieces from corner kicks," noted Basacco, "and we ended up getting our heads on most of them but again we just didn't finish."
 
While the purple and white offense was struggling to finish strong, Guelph was having difficulty getting around the Western defenders. Only one shot was taken on Ben Cowman throughout the first 45 minutes, which he easily picked up.
 
Returning to the game for the second half with the score still at 0-0 seemed to be all the motivation needed for the Gryphons, who came out aggressive from the first whistle. The offense that previously struggled to find paths down the field dominated throughout the entire second half to keep play pressed in the Mustang end for much of the game.
 
Guelph managed four shots in the second half, with Tomasz Skublak and Youssef Zagoul both initially trying to find a flaw in Cowman's coverage. But it wasn't until Kotsopoulos lined up that the Gryphons were able to put any points on the board. The sophomore striker sent two balls into the mesh around the 25, and 88-minute mark to end the game with a 2-0 score in favour of the Gryphons.
 
The Mustangs will be back in action and looking to start a new undefeated streak tomorrow when they host the York Lions at Mustangs Field. Game time is set for 2:15 p.m.