Waterloo, Ont – The Laurier Golden Hawks took on the Western Mustangs this past Saturday at Alumni Field for the team's annual Senior Day game. Both the Mustangs and the Golden Hawks put in a strong 90 minutes of play but the Golden Hawks fell 1-0 to the Mustangs, who currently sit in second place in the OUA West division.
Out of the gate, Western dominated possession, keeping the Golden Hawks in a defensive position. Laurier struggled to get the ball past Western's very strong defensive line, who had set themselves quite high on the pitch.
While dominating play, the Mustangs had a handful of scoring opportunities but were unable to get a shot past the brick wall that was Laurier goalkeeper Bronya Obelnicki. At the end of the first half of play, the score was 0-0.
Entering the pitch in the second half, the Golden Hawks had gained a new sort of confidence in their play and were able to match the Mustangs intensity and possession with ease, despite the fact that they were now playing against a very strong wind.
Both teams had strong scoring opportunities throughout the half, including three shots on net from fourth-year Golden Hawk Lexi Kroeker.
In the 70th minute of play, Western's Medina Birani broke the deadlock with the opening goal.
The Golden Hawks continued to fight hard but were unable to find the equalizer before the final whistle sounded.
After the game, McLean spoke about how "we did, tactically, what we wanted and we played well, but it's hard to manage a team like Western during every minute of play."
"The overall discipline and the quality of passing and movement were all really good in today's match."
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Stand Out Players
Portions of the beginning and end of the match were designated to recognizing Laurier's graduating student-athletes:
Brynn Morgan
Mackenzie ForteÂ
Sophia MessinaÂ
Tatiana BoutrosÂ
Nicole LovisottoÂ
Claire Di BenedettoÂ
Sabeen SakranÂ
Lila NakanoÂ
Charlie RidgeÂ
Lexi KroekerÂ
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Up Next
The Golden Hawks take on the Brock Badgers this Thursday October 12th for the continuation of an earlier match postponed due to weather. Come support your Laurier Golden Hawks on Alumni Field at 7 pm.
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