London, ON – The Mustangs Men's Rugby team used a powerful second-half performance to advance in the OUA Playoffs with a 28-21 win over Brock on Saturday night.

"We were down two guys, and to sort of take it to them for the start of the second half, I think really turned the game around for us and started playing a little bit like we can. Just really proud of the guys tonight," said Mustangs Head Coach Ian Macleod "We're playing aggressively on attack and on defence. We're still making mistakes; that's going to happen. That's what the game's all about, but they're limiting those mistakes, really supporting one another; it's great to see."



GAME RECAP

The Mustangs got the early pressure as they scored a try in the 3^rd minute of the match, Jonathan Criswick was credited with the score and Kohl Keltke got the convert and Western led 7-0 early.

Brock responded just before the 12-minute mark with a try of their own to even up the game at 7-7.

The Badgers kept the momentum, taking the lead on a try in the 28^th minute to push their lead to 14-7.

The Mustangs evened the game at 14-14 in the 32nd minute. After driving the field, Garin Schroeder would make the final push for a try and tie the game.



In the 36^th minute, Brock got the ball on an inbound, and the ensuing scrum pushed the ball all the way to the goal line. Both sides battled at the line, but Brock would end up getting awarded a penalty try right at the end of the opening half to hold a 21-14 lead at the break.

Western tied things up in the 51st minute. The Mustangs pushed the ball to the goal line, and after moving it around, Max LeBlanc made the final push in for the try and tied the game at 21-21.

The Mustangs would take the lead right at the 63^rd minute. It was Leblanc once again who got the try to give Western a 28-21 advantage.

Both sides battled their way through regulation, including a late push from Brock attempting to tie the game, but the Mustangs would kick the ball deep into the Badgers end in the final minute of regulation.

"Honestly, I had the gap, but I just thought if we pin them down deep in the zone, they're going to be stuck there with 4 minutes left," said Kohl Kletke. "I think it was a smart play and was just trying to kill the clock."



It proved to be just that, as the Mustangs would hold on to take the win and advance to the next round of the playoffs, where they will meet top-ranked Guelph.

"We've got Guelph coming up, we know that's a big one. If it were a 4 out of 7 (games) or a 3 out of 5, I probably wouldn't like our chances, but it's a one-game deal, we'll see what happens." said Macleod "I mean, we show up, play like we can, limit our mistakes, we'll give them the best run they've had this year, I can tell you that."

The Mustangs will head to Guelph next Saturday, November 1.