LONDON, Ont. - The Western women's rugby team lost 68-10 against a competitive Queen's team in their first game of the season on Sunday afternoon on Alumni Field. 

With the loss, the Mustangs now hold a 0-1 record following their first game of the new season, as they look to move up the OUA SHIELS division. Queen's victory improves them to 1-0, while they sit atop the OUA SHIELS division. 

Two members of the purple and white earned tries in the contest, as Lexi Smith and Jade Farhat each contributed to the cause. 

"Queen's is one of the best teams in the division, no doubt, so today was a valuable learning experience for us," said Farhat. "Games like this are important at the beginning of the year because they show us what we need to work on. They bring out the best in us in every practice leading up to the game and we're going to use today to get better." 

"This was a really good game for us to start off with, it sets our expectations for how good the competition can be," said Head Coach John Weller. "Playing weak teams early gives us unrealistic expectations. This is reality. This is the type of team we need to strive to beat. That's always a worthwhile experience." 

Queen's dominated the ball early, as Western found themselves on the defence until the Gaels' Rachel Hickson punched in the first try of the game to give her team the early 5-0 lead. Queen's would quickly convert on another try and a conversion to extend the 12-0 early in the half. Hickson and the rest of the Queen's roster continued to convert into halftime, where they held a 34-0 lead. 

However, Western came out of the gate strong to begin the second half, as Smith scored the Mustangs' first try of the game to put the purple and white on the board. But Queen's would quickly find their footing once again, as Bridget Paros notched another try for the Gaels to extend the lead to 41-5 after the conversion. Farhat added another try for the purple and white later in the half, but despite the strong second half showing from the Mustangs, they ultimately went on to take the 68-10 loss. 

"We're trying to integrate new players after losing some huge pieces last year, but we can't make excuses," said Farhat. "Each game is a chance to learn how to play as a unit. We'll get to where we need to be." 

"The second half was a completely different story from the first half and we had them on the ropes a times," said Weller. "We just need to replicate how we closed out the game and we'll be in good shape." 

Western will be back in action this Saturday, September 8, where they will take on the York Lions in Toronto. The game is set to begin at 5:00 P.M. EST.