LONDON, Ontario — Western closed out the home portion of the 2026 regular season schedule with a 3-0 shutout of the Laurier Golden Hawks on Saturday afternoon.
The Mustangs scored twice in the first half and finished with eight shots on goal while holding Laurier scoreless with four saves.
Western turned a modest shot advantage into more on-target production, putting eight of 11 attempts on goal while Laurier put four of nine on frame. Sophia Saville, Marisa Crane and Amelia Schepp each scored, and Astrid Hancocks stopped all four Laurier shots on goal to complete the shutout.
Onkar Dhillion pointed to Senior Day as a source of energy in the Mustangs' win, saying, "We didn't lack motivation today. The younger players want to play for their seniors, that's always a big motivation, you could see that extra run, that extra sprint, that extra jump for the aerial ball. I think they just looked like they really want to play for the people that have built this program, I think we saw that on the field today."
Western handled a Laurier push late in the first half, including four corner kicks and a Hancocks save, before Saville opened the scoring at 41:14. Crane added another goal at 45:00 off an Emily Foster assist, sending the Mustangs into halftime with a 2-0 lead.
"I missed on that first one and I just, I felt I needed to get it back because that could have been a key goal for our team and I needed to put my all into getting it back then we could" said Saville. "Our whole team played amazing today, it was just great because we were all fighting and I had to put my fight in so we could all have this win share it together."
Schepp scored at 84:41 as Western moved its lead from 2-0 to 3-0 late in the second half. Earlier, the Mustangs generated three shots between 70:03 and 77:20, with Jacqueline Brown putting two on goal and Dominique Robinson adding another. Hancocks made two saves after that stretch, and Western closed out the 3-0 win.
MUSTANGS KEY STATS
Sophia Saville
----------------------
- one goal
- five shots
- three shots on goal
Astrid Hancocks
----------------------
- four saves
- clean sheet in 90:00
Amelia Schepp
----------------------
- one goal
- one shot on goal
Marisa Crane
----------------------
- one goal
- one shot on goal
Emily Foster
----------------------
- one assist
NEXT GAME
Looking ahead to the upcoming trip to Sault Ste. Marie, Dhillion added, "We've got to trust our sports science. We know that we've got good backing in that department here with Fowler Kennedy helping us. We're going to be ready. It's a long and difficult trip, we've just got to focus on the first match there then we think about the second one when that one arrives."
The first of two games in Sault Ste. Marie, ON, is set for Saturday, Oct. 17, at 1 p.m against Algoma.
