LONDON, Ont. - The Western Mustangs' undefeated streak finally came to an end in a 1-0 loss against the OUA West-leading Guelph Gryphons on Friday evening on Mustangs Field.

With the loss, the Mustangs drop to 9-1-5 on the season as they receive their first loss of the season and remain in second in the OUA West division standings. Guelph's victory improves their record to 11-1-3 on the year, as they remain atop the OUA West division. However, despite the loss, Western will still be playing for a first-place finish in the division this Sunday against the York Lions.

"Honestly, we knew we were good enough to win tonight and we knew we had it in us, but we just came up a little short tonight," said Mustangs' first-year goalkeeper Maddie Dunsmore. "It's been a neck-and-neck race all season long so we knew we could come out and be the better team. We just didn't take advantage of our opportunities tonight."

"Maddie [Dunsmore] played really well for us tonight filling in for Megan [Girardi], who was obviously out tonight, and I don't think there was an issue in net at all today," said Mustangs head coach Martin Painter. "She was really confident tonight, unfortunately we're also missing some of our defenders so her job was made even harder against a good team. But credit to Guelph on pulling off a close game. They're a really athletic team, they have a lot of experience, and they made it really difficult for us to execute tonight."

The game marked the fifth time this season that the Mustangs have been held scoreless, but with just one loss under their belts, the purple and white remain one of the OUA's most effective defensive teams.

It was a back and forth affair throughout the opening minutes between the OUA's two best teams. Dunsmore was tested early against the Gryphons, filling in for the injured Girardi, but a key early save kept the match tied at 0-0. However, a goal from Guelph late in the half gave the Gryphons the 1-0 lead heading into halftime.

Western's energy was constant throughout the opening of the second, but Guelph's defence remained impenetrable to begin the second half. Western's Nikki Balachorek nearly put the purple and white on the board with a flawless cross midway through the half off of a penalty kick, but Guelph's goalkeeper would once again deny the Mustang offence. Western came close to finding the back of the net behind the playmaking of Giulia Geraci to end the half but would ultimately come up short in the 1-0 loss.

"We're a much more aggressive, cohesive, and confident team than we were at the start of the season," said Dunsmore. "We know if we continue to play our game technically, then we can beat any team. This game is behind us now and there's nothing we can do to change it. But going into Sunday, we know we're the better team than York and one of the better teams in the league, if not the best. We try not to put too much pressure on ourselves because we know if we play our game then we're coming out of this weekend with a win."

"We're going to have another test Sunday against York, but we've had tests all season," said Painter. "Hopefully we can get healthy over the weekend and just be prepared for a tough opponent and the playoffs moving forward."

The Mustangs will be back in action this Sunday, October 21, where they will host the York Lions in their second meeting of the season on Mustangs Field. The game is scheduled to begin at 12:00 P.M. EST.