LONDON, Ontario – The Mustangs 2026 season came to a close after a thriller against McMaster on Saturday night. Both sides scored in OT and the game went to penalty kicks, where the Marauders converted 4-3 to take the win.
"Great season, great performance tonight against a very good McMaster team," said Mustangs Head Coach Martin Painter. "That was an excellent game of soccer; it could have gone either way, and we just came up a little bit short," while emphasizing, "I'm so proud of the team, the amount of growth we've shown in the last year and excited about the future."
Western finished with 18 shots and 10 on goal, compared with nine shots and five on goal for McMaster, while McMaster's goalkeeper was credited with eight saves.
GAME RECAP
In the first half, Western kept McMaster off the board through a late push, with Ben Choudhry saving Karl Espiro's shot at 37:51 before McMaster added two more attempts and a corner kick in the closing minutes. Earlier, Western tested Ethan Cagalj twice, first on Gavin Goddard's shot in the third minute and again when Pelliccioni put an effort on goal at 18:52. Alex Henderson supplied Western corner kicks in the 20th minute and at 45:00, giving the Mustangs set-piece chances on either side of McMaster's attacking spells. Western also navigated a pair of team cards in the half, including a red card at 39:15, and reached halftime tied 0-0.
The Mustangs closed the second half with sustained pressure, generating eight shots and six corner kicks from 81:38 through 90:00 while the match remained 0-0. Earlier, Henderson sent a shot high, Coby Sankar missed wide right and Callum Yuile hit the crossbar at 63:38 before Western earned a corner through Henderson. Western also had to absorb McMaster set-piece pressure in the middle of the half, with Choudhry saving Nathan Oduol's 78:52 attempt to keep the match scoreless. The late push included saved efforts from Yuile, Pelliccioni, Stefan Musta and Henderson, and the half ended with the match still tied 0-0.
In the first overtime, Western generated sustained pressure early, earning three corner kicks between 91:31 and 94:02 and getting a Musta shot off the crossbar during that stretch. McMaster answered with a chance at 94:40, but Choudhry saved Nathan Oduol's shot to keep the match at 0-0. Western came right back at 95:02, when Callum Yuile's shot was cleared by Leshawn Facey for a defensive save. The side continued to press late, including an Ennis Bernaus shot that was blocked at 105:00, but the first overtime ended scoreless with the match still tied 0-0.
Pelliccioni put Western in front in the second overtime, converting a penalty kick at 109:00 to open the scoring and make it 1-0. Western then had to absorb McMaster pressure, with Choudhry saving Aj Robichaud's shot at 113:09 before McMaster earned a corner moments later. Damiano Refosco scored for McMaster at 115:01 off an assist from Robichaud, tying the match at 1-1. Western generated a late corner through Musta at 118:17, but the second overtime finished level at 1-1.
MUSTANGS KEY STATS
Stefano Pelliccioni
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- 1 goal
- 3 shots, all on goal
Ben Choudhry
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- 4 saves
- allowed 1 goal
Alex Henderson
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- 4 shots
- 2 shots on goal
Stefan Musta
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- 4 shots
- 2 shots on goal
The Mustangs would like to thank the student-athletes, coaches, supporters and fans for their passion and enthusiasm this season and look forward to seeing you back next fall.
