LONDON, Ont. - Fourth-year striker Julia Crnjac netted Western's only goal of the day in the team's 1-1 draw against the Laurier Golden Hawks this Saturday, October 14, at Mustang Field.

"It was a good game for both teams. Both sides were creating chances. I thought we actually got into a good rhythm in the second half and were playing well, but unfortunately, we made a mistake and allowed them to get the draw," said Mustangs head coach Martin Painter. "We were unhappy to concede the goal, but there were still a lot of positives to take away from today."

With the draw, Western's first of the season, the Mustangs will move to 13-1-1 on the year, and have already locked up first place in the OUA West Division as their 11-game winning streak comes to an end. The draw gives the Golden Hawks a 6-3-6 record, as they sit in third in the OUA West with two games remaining on the schedule.

The Mustangs came into the game off of a dominant weekend series against Algoma, but Laurier proved why they currently sit third in the OUA West division, coming out of the gate with constant activity and challenging every ball through the opening half.

Western controlled the time of possession well through the opening frame, but was unable to break through the Laurier defence to create any quality scoring opportunities, until midway through the half where Crnjac would put the Mustangs on the board with a strike to put the purple and white up 1-0.

The second half was just as closely contested, as Laurier amped up the pressure against the Western defence, with a good strike coming early in the second frame and missing the bottom corner by just inches. Crnjac would create another scoring chance for the purple and white off of a corner kick, but the Mustangs would be unable to convert. Both defences would continue to lock things down, until Laurier's Maxime Murchie would net a goal off the post In the 87th minute to tie the game at 1-1.

"We still have two more regular season games that we obviously want to go out and try to win, but we know we have a playoff game coming up and we know it's at home, so that's a big advantage for us," said Painter, looking ahead following his team's division-clinching win last week. "Knowing when and where we're playing allows us to start mentally preparing for the game, but we're not overlooking tomorrow's matchup against Waterloo."

"The win-streak definitely built up our confidence, but we can't get too caught up in that," said Crnjac. "At this point in the season, it's more important to keep looking forward than to be too focused on past accomplishments. We'll come back from this tomorrow and try to keep that momentum going into the post-season."

The Mustangs will be back in action this Sunday, October 15, at 4 p.m., when they will travel to Waterloo to take on the Warriors at Warrior Field for their penultimate contest of the regular season.