LONDON, Ontario — Amelia Schepp scored in the 87th minute to lift Western to a 2-1 win over McMaster on Friday night.
Schepp supplied the late go-ahead goal at 86:47, after Sophia Saville had brought Western level earlier. McMaster finished with more total shots, 15-10, and a slight edge in shots on goal, 5-4, but Western turned its limited on-target chances into two goals. Alexandra Orr added four saves in goal for Western.
Schepp pointed to Western's response over the entirety of the match, saying, "It was super good to have my teammates all around me, especially how we fought throughout the whole game, especially because they conceded early, which wasn't obviously what we wanted, but we came back strong and finished strong." With Western turning toward its next game, Schepp added, "I think we come back, we have a practice tomorrow. We're going to start strong again and just keep pushing through, lean on each other and be ready for the next game."
GAME RECAP
Western fell behind in the first minute when McMaster's Olivia Blair scored off a Mea Martel assist, then relied on Orr and its defense to keep the margin at 1-0 through the first half. Orr made four saves, including two during a McMaster stretch from 17:23 to 27:00, while Western's first-half shots from Miranda Preece and Anna Pozzi went wide.
The Mustangs moved in front late in the second half when Schepp scored at 86:47 to make it 2-1. Earlier, Saville brought Western level at 1-1 in the 55th minute off Marisa Crane's assist, and Western followed with pressure that included Emily Foster hitting the crossbar twice. Western held the 2-1 score through 90:00 to close the win.
"It was just a strange situation that led to an early goal (for McMaster), It was senior leadership on the team that got the team reframed. We just tried to solve the tactical puzzles out there, but it was senior leadership that told the team out there we're going to just get back to our principles and get through it, and they did." said Associate Coach Onkar Dhillon.
KEY STATS
Amelia Schepp
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- one goal
Sophia Saville
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- one goal
Marisa Crane
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- one assist
Alexandra Orr
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- four saves
Miranda Preece
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- three shots
- one shot on goal
NEXT GAME
Up next, the Mustangs travel to Guelph to face the Gryphons on Sunday, Sept. 20, at 1 p.m. Fans can catch the action on OUA.tv.
