London, ON - In their fifth game of the season, the Western Women's Soccer team took home 3 points in a 7-0 win against the Algoma Thunderbirds on Saturday, continuing their winning streak.
Western had a strong first half, maintaining the majority of possession but couldn't find the back of the net. That is until the 37th minute, when Maddy Skinner played a through ball between the middle defenders, sending striker Hannah Vickers on a breakaway. The goalie came out to challenge her and Vickers slid it by into the corner, to put the Mustangs up 1-0.
With a few close chances off of corner kicks, Reese Fowler was able to cross it into the box. The team cycled the ball back to create a chance and Maddy Skinner was able to pound one in from just outside the box.
The second half brought lots of action, with Western building off their late goals in the first half.
In the 50th minute of the game, Hannah Vickers received a cross and fed second-year Mackenzie Bilotta a pass. Bilotta turned and found the back of the net, securing her first of the season.
"First goal of the season is always exciting," said Bilotta. "Pretty exciting I was able to finish and find the back of the net."
Second-year midfielder Reese Fowler notched her second and third goals of the season within two minutes, scoring on a penalty kick and off of a cross from Sofia Geraci.
Thalia Lewis also had a two point afternoon, scoring in the 76th minute on an assist from Ally Hicks, and assisting Mackenzie Bilotta's second goal of the game.
"We worked a lot on finishing this week, so I think we executed that really well," said goal scorer Bilotta. "We are expecting them to come out fast and hard tomorrow, so we'll look to be better than today".
With a variety of players capitalizing on their scoring chances today, head coach Martin Painter noted "The depth of our team has got to be a strength. When our players come in we call them 'energy players', we expect them to come in and bring energy and improve the overall performance of the team, and I thought they did that today."
The Mustangs will face Algoma again Sunday the 18th for an afternoon match. Kick-off is at 1pm.
