LONDON, Ont. - Fourth-year defender Jonathon Hodge scored his second goal of the season to help lift the Western men's soccer team to a 4-0 victory over the Algoma Thunderbirds on Sunday afternoon on Mustangs Field. 

With the win, the Mustangs improve to 5-3-3 and move into fourth place in a competitive OUA West division. The Thunderbirds' loss drops them to 0-9-1 on the season as they sit at the bottom of the OUA West and continue to look their first win of the season. 

Three other Mustangs got on the board for the purple and white in the win, as Anthony Chysanthou, Lucas Ventura, and Kairav Juta each notched goals to help Western's efforts. 

"This weekend was definitely a step closer towards meeting our goals this season," said first-year striker Belal Halbouni. "You can never underestimate a team and I think we took both games this weekend very seriously. That's what we needed to do to come out with two wins and move up the standings this week." 

"Obviously we came into this weekend with the expectation of leaving with six points, but that's the goal in every matchup," said Mustangs head coach Martin Painter. "We took care of our job and we've been playing well lately. We're not where we want to be yet, but this weekend was another step in the right direction." 

Algoma came out of the gate with purpose to begin the game, foiling Western's attack and controlling possessions of their own. However, the Mustangs' efforts would eventually be enough to earn a pair of goals midway through the half as Hodge and Chysanthou each scored to give the purple and white the 2-0 advantage heading into the half. 

Western continued to pressure Algoma's keeper throughout the half, with Halbouni leading the attack for the purple and white. But despite the pressure, the Mustangs would be held scoreless for the majority of the half. However, Lucas Ventura and Kairav Juta would each add one final goal for the Mustangs, slipping by the Thunderbird defence for perfect opportunities as they cruised to the 4-0 victory. 

"We have a lot of guys that are willing to make plays for others and that showed up a couple times today," said Painter. "It's good to see that unselfishness, hopefully it results in more wins moving ahead." 

"I personally try to approach the game from an really unselfish place and I know my teammates do too," said Halbouni. "To me, it's not about scoring or stats. If we don't win in the end then that other stuff doesn't matter. We're all one unit and that's the message of our program." 

The Mustangs will be back in action this Saturday, October 6, where they will take on the Laurier Golden Hawks in their second meeting of the season. The game is scheduled to begin at 3:15 P.M. EST.