LONDON, Ont. - The Western men's soccer team fell in a tightly-contested 1-0 loss to the Guelph Gryphons this Friday evening on Mustangs Field.

With the loss, Western drops to 7-4-4 on the season as they remain in fourth place in the OUA West division standings. Guelph's win improves their record to 10-3-2 on the year, as they sit in second place in a competitive OUA West division standings.

"We tried to stay really compact defensively and not offer them many chances, because we knew they had some really solid goal scorers," said fourth-year midfielder Owain Evans. "I think we did exactly that in the first half. We were all over them, but in the second half they changed shape and obviously that ended up giving them the advantage."

"Guelph made some key changes at halftime, but I also think going against the wind in the second half was a factor as well tonight," said Mustangs head coach Martin Painter. "We also had to make some substitutions following a couple injuries, so we were forced to make a lot of changes between the first and second half. We had a lot of first-half momentum, but in the second half our energy level faded."

Despite Guelph's higher standing in the OUA West division, Western controlled the ball early to begin the game as Owain pressured the Gryphons throughout the opening minutes. On the other side of the ball, Guelph struggled to create any viable chances throughout the first 45 minutes of action, while Western's energy forced the Gryphons to defend for nearly the entire half. But despite the strong play from the Mustangs, both teams failed to earn their way to the scoreboard as they went into halftime tied 0-0.

Guelph opened the attack to begin the second half, but an easy save from Western goalkeeper Kody Thompson kept the kept deadlocked at 0-0. However, Guelph remained in firm control for the majority of the half, pushing into Western's zone with superior speed, but the defence, led by Jonathon Hodge, held the Gryphons scoreless late into the half.

Western's Sebastian Fischer nearly scored a breakaway goal for the purple and white in the final minutes, but a clutch save from the Guelph kept them off the scoreboard. Following an injury to Western center-back Luca McLean, the game looked as though it was going to end in a draw, but a last-minute goal from Guelph's Conor O'Callaghan ultimately gave the Gryphons their 1-0 victory.

"We'll learn from this and react to team's changing strategies better in the future," said Evans. "The real focus is being able to finish games. In the playoffs, every team in this division is tough, so we'll have to be sharper no matter what."

"It's going to be a tricky game this Sunday because we'll be playing a playoff game on Wednesday, so we'll be trying to prepare for both at the same time," said Painter.
"York's already clinched first place, so the game doesn't mean too much in terms of standings. But it'll be a chance for us to get some different guys in and build momentum heading into the postseason."

The Mustangs will be back in action this Sunday, October 21, where they will take on the York Lions for their second meeting of the season on Mustangs Field at 2:15 P.M. EST.