LONDON, Ont. - Following a pair of closely-contested losses against the Guelph Gryphons and the York Lions this past weekend at home, the Western men's soccer team will be back in action this Wednesday to host the Windsor Lancers in the OUA West division quarter-finals. 

Despite the two-straight losses to end the season, Western will enter Wednesday's match knowing they nearly stole a game from the undefeated York Lions without a full first 11. With fourth-place in the OUA West division secured prior to the match against York, Western rested nearly all their starters, including star goalkeeper Kody Thompson. However, despite being shorthanded, the Mustangs went head-to-head with the OUA's best and nearly came out on top, spoiled by a York goal in the final minutes of the match.

But Western will be going against an opponent of a slightly lesser caliber in the Lancers this Wednesday. Windsor had a respectable regular season, sitting fifth in the OUA West division with a 6-6-4 record, but has struggled to find the back of the net consistently, sitting 11th in shots and goals. However, with a handful of impressive wins under their belt throughout the season, Windsor certainly won't roll over against the purple and white come this Wednesday.

The Mustangs got the better of the Lancers in their most recent matchup, winning 2-1 in an extremely tight game, but left with a 0-0 draw the game prior in Windsor. However, despite earning four points in the matchup, the Mustangs could have very well lost both games, with both matches coming down to the final seconds. 

But despite a fourth-place finish in the division, anyone who's watched Western this season knows they have just as much individual talent as any other team in the province. 

"We've been betting on ourselves this entire season because we know the kind of individual talent that we have, so we're just going to keep betting on ourselves heading into the playoffs," said first-year striker Jamu Iluya. "We just take it one game at a time, so we're putting this loss behind us and looking forward to the postseason."

The postseason is always competitive, but with both Windsor and Western tied for fourth in the OUA in yellow cards and with nine total yellow cards handed out in their previous matchup, this Wednesday may indeed see the most intense quarter-final match in the province. The game is scheduled to begin at 8:15 P.M. EST.