London ON – The Western Women's Soccer team took the pitch at Mustangs Field for the last time this regular season as they blanked the Windsor Lancers 5-0.
 
The Mustangs came out with a noticeable energy, ready to put their postseason fate into their own hands. It didn't take long for them to find the back of the net, as Natalie Abbate scored top right corner from a Katrina Gianstopolous assist in the 21^st minute. The Lancers responded with a dangerous chance of their own, but it was ultimately saved.

Western doubled their lead 3 minutes later courtesy of Mackenzie Bilotta, marking her second of the season and putting Western on the front foot.  
 
Abbate was thirsty for more, as she got in behind the Windsor back line and launched one over the keeper extending the lead to 3-0 in the 27^th minute.  
 
Western wasn't finished there, as after a hard foul outside the box, the purple and white were awarded a free kick in the 57^th minute. Kiera Grein stepped up and lobbed the ball over the wall and into the top left corner, putting the Mustangs in a good position to secure the three points they were in search of.
 
Grein's spectacular goal was not by chance, but rather first-hand proof that practice does in fact make perfect.
 
"I actually worked on it in practice yesterday," said Grein. "I was like 'I'm going to try this' so I said, 'let me take this one' and I just aimed and fired."
 
Medina Birani looked to add her name to the scoresheet, but her shot hit the crossbar and bounced out. The ball would find the back of the net a minute later, as Maddy Skinner positioned a free kick right in front of the goal for an easy tap in by Hannah Vickers in the 82^nd minute.
 
Windsor almost pulled one back after a crossbar and misfired header but couldn't spark a comeback and are eliminated from postseason contention. Besides this chance, Western dominated possession and kept Windsor to their own half for most of the match, producing their most dominant performance of the season.
 
"Best game of the season. Great team effort from back to front. It was a complete performance, and I am really proud of the girls," said head coach Martin Painter. "We've had some games where we've had a lot of pressure and not been rewarded in front of goal but today I thought our movement, decision making, and execution was a little bit better in advanced areas."
 
"I feel like a lot of the time it just comes down to our energy at the beginning of the game," added Grein. "We came out really sharp and wanting to win, and we did it."

While a postseason date is all but official, the Mustangs sit in second place in the West division, a playoff position, and look forward to claiming three points in their final regular season game on Sunday.
 
"We know we are in the mix to make the playoffs," said Painter. "We want to get something out of Sunday's game and make the playoffs, and then see what we can do there."
 
Kick-off is at 2pm in Windsor as the Mustangs take on the Lancers in a rematch of tonight's game. The action can be found on OUA.tv