LONDON, Ont. - First-year striker Katrina Giantsopolous scored the lone goal of the night to give the Western women's soccer team the 1-0 victory over the Laurier Golden Hawks to advance to the OUA West division semifinals.

With the win, the Mustangs will advance to the OUA West division semifinals to continue their season against the York Lions. The Golden Hawks' loss ends their season in the quarter-final round following a 5-9-2 regular season.

"Usually these games just come down to one goal and it was a pretty even game all the way through, so it felt good to get one to the back of the net and take some pressure off us," said Giantsopolous. "After winning 2-0 against Laurier in the series, our mindset was that good things come in threes. We know we have what it takes to beat any team and make it to the OUA Championship, so tonight was just one step along the way."

"We've had a lot of unfortunate circumstances this season in terms of health, but credit to Laurier who played excellently tonight," said Mustangs head coach Martin Painter. "It was a great game of soccer and one of the best games I've seen since I've been here."

Western controlled the ball throughout the opening minutes, but it was Laurier who earned the first shot of the game, forcing Mustang goalkeeper Megan Girardi to make an early save to keep the game scoreless. Nikki Balachorek nearly put Western on the board minutes later with a perfect cross to Morgan Asling, but a clutch save from the Golden Hawks' goalkeeper kept the Mustangs off the board as they went into halftime 0-0.

Neither team managed to earn a scoring chance midway through the final half, as the match remained a back and forth affair. However, a pair of injuries to key Mustang players in Lauren O'Donnell and Nicola Panaccione left Western's lineup thinned for the remainder of the game. Giulia Geraci was the spark behind the Mustangs' offence following the injuries, breaking into the Golden Hawks' zone and nearly getting the purple and white on the board. However, Kendra Marlatt went down with an injury just minutes later to further hinder the Western attackas both teams headed into overtime facing a 0-0 draw.

Western wasted little time in the overtime period, as Giantsopolous scored an incredible goal off the corner kick to allow the Mustangs to escape with the eventual 1-0 victory.

"There's been a lot of injuries along the way this season and again tonight, but I think we really bounced back and showed our depth," said Giantsopolous. "We have players that can step in and do really big things, even when our starting lineup falls."

"A lot of the players that had to come on for us following those injuries were first-year players and they handled the pressure tremendously," said Painter. "This was a new test for a lot of our players. We have an inexperienced team in a way, but there's no better way to earn experience that to have to fight for your season at home."

The Mustangs will be back in action this Sunday, October 28, where they will travel to take on the York Lions in Toronto, Ontario.