London, ON – The lights turned on at Mustangs Field for one last time this season as the Mustangs beat the Lancers in a crucial 2-0 win as they look to fight their way into the playoffs.
The Mustangs are on the outside looking in, hoping that points in this week's Windsor series will be enough to secure them a ticket to the postseason. The standings are still not fully clear, but what is known is that Western needed a win to put themselves in the best position to qualify.
"We were really excited for this one," said captain Patrick Melo. "We knew that our season was on the line here and we had to win this game."
The match was instantly proven to be one of high tension and animosity with a lot on the line, and Western ultimately rose to the challenge. Despite being eliminated from the postseason, Windsor did not make it easy for Western and looked to finish their season on a positive note as they started the match pressuring the purple and white.
An early back and forth contest ultimately saw the Mustangs open the scoring as Jamu Iluya scored his 3
rd goal in as many games. The shot looked to be any easy save for the Windsor goalkeeper, but it ultimately slipped through for a lucky but essential goal.
"It was good build up," said head coach Martin Painter. "Maybe a little fortunate with the way it went in."
Windsor looked to level it up quickly, but a Dalton save and then a skied rebound helped Western to maintain their lead for the time being. Despite heading into halftime with the lead, the Mustangs knew they had more to give.
"We didn't start the game well at all, the first half was poor," said Painter. "But overall, really happy with the way we responded in the second half. We knew we needed to win."
With time winding down, Western remained on the verge of a claiming a must-win victory but were looking for another goal to secure it. Some crossbars and saved chances were not enough, but after being brought down in the box, Tyrone Mulder stepped up and slotted away a powerful penalty with 10 minutes to go to put Western on the verge of victory.
"The penalty was a result of good pressure," said Painter. "It was an important goal for us."
The Mustangs were able to hold on and ultimately secure an important three points. Riding a two-game win streak, the purple and white will look to claim another three points against Windsor on Sunday in hopes of securing a playoff spot.
"We realize we didn't play our best game for ninety minutes, so I think we get back on the training pitch, and work on a couple things, refocus, and be ready to try and get three points on Sunday," said Painter.
"We need to come with the same mentality as this one," said Melo. "I think we look at the positives from today, we work out where to improve, and we know a little bit of what to expect from Windsor as well so that'll help us."
The Mustangs and Lancers face off for one last time in a late afternoon matchup on Sunday. Kick-off is at 4:15pm away at Windsor and is available to watch on OUA.tv
