LONDON, Ont. – Two tries each from Veronica Harrigan and Nikki Case helped lead the Western Mustangs to a 48-14 win over the Trent Excalibur in OUA playoff action on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field.
 
"I thought it was a cohesive team performance, we really played well together," said Mustangs head coach John Weller. "It's really hard to pick someone out from that group, I think everyone played a great game. We played really well in attack, we supported when someone made a break, it's always great to see when there are options when someone is running through and they have someone to pass to with lots of space to exploit. I thought they played really well as a whole unit."
 
The win sends Western into the OUA consolation final, where they'll play for the chance to remain in the top-ranked Shiels Division for the 2018 season.
 
Case and Harrigan topped the Mustangs scoresheet with two tries each on Saturday, and were followed by Landon Thompson who tallied eight points on four converts. Maddy Howell and Kiara Scott recorded tries for Trent in the loss, with Reagan McDonald providing four points off two converts.
 
The Mustangs got off to a good start, with Harrigan finishing off Western's initial scoring push with a try in the eighth minute. Western didn't wait long to add more points to the board, with Nikki Case notching her first try of the day with a long run at the 11-minute mark.
 
Western's rapid scoring pace continued as the team scored two tries in the next 10 minutes, with Harrigan recording her second of the day followed by one from Dagmar Wallsten to put the purple and white a 26-0 lead just past the midway point of the first half.
 
After the Mustangs controlled the play for the majority of the first half the Excalibur began to push into Western territory late in the frame, resulting in a try from Howell in the 37th minute to cut the Mustangs lead to 26-7 at halftime.
 
The break didn't seem to slow the Mustangs with Case going on a highlight reel run to record her second try of the day just four minutes into the second half.
 
Faith Davis added another try for the home side at the 44-minute mark before Trent fought their way over the line with a try from Kiara Scott just five minutes later.
 
That would be as close as things would get, with the Mustangs adding tries from Danielle Brazeau and Carla DuToit to walk away with a 48-14 victory.
 
Saturday's win was arguably the most complete game the Mustangs have played all season, and both Harrigan and Weller spoke of the team's cohesion and that things have come together as the season has moved into its final weeks.
 
"It's a difficult season because it's so short that you really have to be firing right off the bat, and maybe that wasn't the case for us this year," said Weller. "These past two or three weeks we're really been together both offensively and defensively and reading off each other. It's been really positive for the coaching group."
 
The Mustangs will now turn their attention to next week's contest, where they'll take on either Brock or Laurier with the winner earning the final spot in the Shiels Division for next season.
 
"This final game it will really be the pinnacle of our season," said Harrigan. "We'll bring everything that we've been working up towards – each game keeps getting better, our systems keep getting better – and I think next week we can really take it to them and show that we belong in the top division."
 
And while the Mustangs don't yet know their opponent, they know that they'll be playing on the familiar ground of Alumni Field. Coach Weller says that playing in London is a 'huge advantage' but added that regardless of opponent, Western will be focusing more on their game plan and less on what they expect the other team to do.
 
"I don't think we want to worry about the other team too much, we want to concentrate on our game, support any breaks we make, and play together as a team on defence."
 
Check back to westernmustangs.ca later this week for details on the Mustangs next playoff contest.