LONDON, Ont. - Michael Coldwells broke open the scoring for Western midway through the first half and the Mustangs kept rolling from there on their way to a 29-8 victory over the Waterloo Warriors on Friday night at Alumni Field.

"After the week of practice we had, we expected a quicker start from the guys coming into the match," said Mustangs head coach Tom Dolezel after the team's win. "There wasn't any glaring weakness, and we're happy about the win, but there are definitely adjustments to be made heading into Kingston."

With the win, the Mustangs improve to 2-1 on the year as they look to move up the OUA standings. The Warriors' loss will move their record to 0-3, as they will look for their first victory next week against McMaster.

After a 78-0 shutout against the University of Toronto the week prior, the offence came much slower for the purple and white until Coldwells broke open the scoring with his try.

"His leadership was really big for us," said Dolezel, commenting on Coldwells' performance. "He's a strong leader on the team and back it up with his performances. It's hard not to be happy with his effort out there. He has a high rugby-IQ, he's good at making decisions when we need it most, and the guys respect him for that."

Despite boasting the superior record entering to contest, Western found themselves down early to Waterloo as the Warriors converted on a penalty kick within the first ten minutes to earn a 3-0 lead to start the match.

However, the Mustangs would not allow the deficit to hold for long, as Coldwells put the purple and white on the board with his try and ultimately gave Western the 7-3 lead midway through the half. A penalty kick from Western's Will Sauder would extend the Mustangs' lead to 10-3 heading into the second half.

Both teams found themselves in a scoring drought to begin the second half as the physicality ramped up. It was not until the halfway mark in the final frame that Western's John Fazio broke through the Waterloo wall to score a try for the purple and white. Luc Bouchar would convert another try for the purple and white to widen the Western advantage to a 22-3 lead.

Trevor Noskiewicz pushed through the defence one final time with just minutes remaining for Western's final try of the game, and was matched by Waterloo's Aaron Goodridge who scored the Warriors' only try of the game in added time, giving the Mustangs a 29-8 victory.

"When we put it together, we have a special team, but at times, we got lucky tonight. It's a matter of consistency, and tonight was really a lesson for us," said Dolezel, looking ahead to their match against Queen's. "We're happy with the win, but if we let these little mistakes add up against elite teams, we're going to get punished for it."

"We have to clean our offence up and work on our communication, but other than that I think we have a lot of promise looking forward to the rest of the year," said Curtis Robichaud. "We played hard despite the adversity, and tonight we were lucky enough to come out on top."

The Mustangs will be back in action next Saturday, September 23, when they travel to Kingston to take on the Queen's Gaels. The game is set to begin at 3 p.m.