Box Score LONDON, ON - The Mustangs capped off their 2018 OUA season with a silver medal falling to the Ottawa Gee-Gee's on home turf at Alumni Field on Sunday.
 
The purple and white advanced through the playoff round with wins over Laurier, York, and Queen's - the last of which secured their spot in the OUA Final and next weekends U SPORTS National Championships.
 
Ottawa promised to be a challenging opponent, having been dominant all season long in the OUA East, with 14 wins, and only a singular loss and tie.
 
The game started with a scoreless first half, as the two sides went back and forth with shutdown defense coming from both squads. Ottawa played a possession heavy game while the Mustangs looked to drive offensively and utilize their long game. While the Gee-gee's out shot the Mustangs four to two in the frame, they were shutdown repeatedly by Goaltender Megan Girardi who came out with four clutch saves in the first 45 minutes.
 
The beginning of the second frame saw increasingly competitive play between the Mustangs and the Gee-gees, until Ottawa netted the only goal of the game. In the 64^th minute Katherine Bearne found the bottom left corner with the assist from Miranda Smith and Delaney Rickert-Hall. Bearne was dominant all game for Ottawa, having made three of their seven shots on goal.
 
The Mustangs looked to answer the Gee-Gee's with a goal of their own, with opportunities from Julia Crnjac and Nikki Balachorek coming close but not hitting the back of the net. The rest of the match saw both sides battling it out until the final whistle, where the Gee-gee's single goal captured them the title.
 
While not the outcome they had hoped, Mustangs forward Giulia Geraci noted how the purple and white are looking ahead to build on this match going into the weekend ahead: "it's unfortunate but all the girls trust each other, we work together, and we're just going to prepare now for Nationals."
 
Western will conclude their season this coming week, as they head to Ottawa for the 2018 U SPORTS National Championships from Thursday November 8^th to Sunday, November 11. The Mustangs first game will be Thursday at 10am against Cape Breton.