Waterloo, ON – The Western Men's rugby team lost their first playoff game 36-31 to the Laurier Goldenhawks on Friday evening at University Stadium.
 
The rivals' second meet of the season proved to be more impressive than the first matchup as the Mustangs came within a try's distance from the win. Laurier put themselves up 12-0 within the first 21 minutes of the game featuring tries from Josh Tinney and Matt Fish with a conversion by Dom Johnson. Western responded shortly thereafter with a try from Owen Pitblado, but they lacked the conversion and the score held steady at 12-5 for the Goldenhawks.
 
The remainder of the half saw two more tries and an additional conversion from Laurier. Andrew Jorgensen of the Purple and White retaliated with five more points, and Mikko Vorster put an additional two on the board to bring the end of the half to 24-17.
 
The second half of the match proved to be more back-and-forth than the first. Western was first to strike with a try from Lock Aidan Foley with Vorster again successful with the conversion before the Goldenhawks regained possession. Tyler Farrow and Johnson brought the Goldenhawks to 31 points, and while Western came close to cinching the margin as they spiked to 29 with tries from Foley and Nick McComb, they were unable to overthrow the Purple and Yellow.
 
With one minute left in the match, Laurier sealed their victory with a try from Malik James and brought the board to its final score of 36-31.
 
The Mustangs are set to play in the OUA Consolation Semifinal on Saturday, November 2^nd. Game time, location, and opposition are still TBD.