Kingston, ON - The Women's Lacrosse team hit the road Saturday to play a doubleheader against Trent and Queen's, earning one 11-8 win and one 11-8 loss respectively.
The Mustangs finished in third place last year, and prepared to face the first and second place teams in weekend action.
"Coming into a weekend like this with two big games against Trent and Queen's on the same day is a big test," said head coach Garrett Loubert. "We wanted to see where we stand and what we can improve upon."
Suffering a loss in the semi-finals to Trent the year prior, the purple and white came out firing but found themselves down 5-1 after the first quarter. A strong second however would help mount the comeback, with Western sitting ahead 6-5 at halftime.
"After coming out slow in the first quarter we settled into our game and controlled the game after that," said Loubert. "The plays ran very well and we took away their big players when the game got tight. Big win to start off the day."
Western took the first game of the day with an 11-8 final score, with third year Reese Wilkins taking home MVP honours. Lexie Delisle and Kaleigh Wallace displayed phenomenal draw control to help claim the win, while Quinn Kolwich and Kenzie Deleary delivered amazing feeds in what was the game with the Mustangs' most assisted goals all season.
The 'Stangs then prepared to face Queen's, resuming a long heated rivalry as the two did not see each other last season.
The first quarter went the way of Western who were up 3-2, but the Gaels would tie up as the two sat tied 6-6 at half.
"I felt confident going into the second half," said Loubert. "The second half we had a few bad bounces with hitting some posts and some bad shot placement."
Despite a tough battle and missing players due to injury, Western dropped their second game with a final score of 11-8.
"We could've won without those small details," added Loubert. "Learning to play in these tight games will make us a better team moving forward."
The match proved to be a great learning experience for the team, as rookie Tenley Hill grew her confidence and took on a key role on the offensive side. Abby Copeland and Lauren Tracogna displayed quality draw control alongside top defensive performances by Rachel Reynolds, Taya Keast, Lyanne Martin and Liv Morgan. Goalie Sophie Hofmann also put forth an outstanding performance.
"A good effort and good learning experience for everybody," concluded Loubert. "We will take it as a team learning lesson moving forward for the rest of the season moving towards OUA's."
The Mustangs will play host to Brock for their next match-up on Saturday, October 1st. The game is slated for an 8:30am start at Mustangs Field.
