LONDON, Ont. - First-year striker Katrina Giantsopoulos netted her fourth and fifth goals of the season to help lead the Western women's soccer team to a 5-0 victory over the Algoma Thunderbirds on Sunday afternoon on Mustangs Field. 

With the win, the Mustangs improve to 7-0-4 on the season as they pass Guelph and move into first place in the OUA West division. The Thunderbirds' loss drops them to 0-9-1 on the season as they continue to look for their first win of the season. 

Two other Mustangs chipped in goals for the purple and white on the day, as Kendra Marlatt added a pair of goals while Julia Ruffolo scored one of her own to give the Mustangs the blowout win. 

"I think we were a bit fatigued in the first half and that led us to be a little unorganized in the opening half, but overall we were happy with our performance and obviously we can't be mad at the result," said Giantsopoulos. "I think we got back to playing as well as we did yesterday in the second half. It felt good to be able to add to the goal scoring again today, so I have to credit my teammates for doing all the work behind me to set me up. All the credit has to go to them." 

"We obviously weren't as sharp today. I think we still moved the ball well and created some good opportunities, but we were playing a really physical and determined team today in Algoma, so they made it hard on us," said Mustangs head coach Martin Painter. "Once we didn't get an early goal, I think it affected us psychologically. When you start to force the issue, execution tends to slip, but we were able to get ourselves together eventually in that second half and continue building the lead." 

Western picked up right where they left off against Algoma this afternoon, as Marlatt continued her strong weekend with two more goals to give the purple and white the 2-0 lead midway through the first half. The Mustangs offence struggled to create more chances through the rest of the half, but constant defensive pressure until the conclusion of the half allowed them to go into the second half with a 2-0 lead. 

Western continued to earn chances for themselves in the second half, pressuring the Algoma defence until Giantsopoulos found the back of the net midway through the frame to put the Mustangs ahead 3-0. Despite the lead, Western did not take their foot off the gas until the end, as Giantsopoulos and Ruffolo each scored another just minutes later as Algoma eventually fell in a 5-0 loss. 

"We had the chance to jump Guelph this afternoon and obviously holding first place in the division is a big advantage moving forward," said Painter. "We try to pay attention to the little details and work on our game, so I think we deserve to be in the position we're in." 

The Mustangs will be back in action this Saturday, October 6, where they will travel to Waterloo, Ont. to take on the Laurier Golden Hawks for their second win of the season. The game is scheduled to begin at 1:00 P.M. EST.