Laurier Athletics - Waterloo Campus

WATERLOO, Ont. - Laurier celebrated Senior Night in style with a dominant 3-0 victory over the winless Windsor Lancers to secure an OUA postseason birth. 

Players on both sides were vocal from the start, frequently calling out their teammates and contesting calls from the officials, reflecting the intensity of the match. 

After a spirited but scoreless first half, the emotion from the opening 45 minutes trickled over to the second half as Windsor's Wilchrist Abdo was shown a yellow card in the 51st minute for a reckless challenge, setting a combative tone for the remainder of the match.

The game's turning point came in the 63rd minute when Laurier's Nathan Dennis broke the deadlock with a pivotal goal, the first of his OUA career.

After multiple chances to score in the first half, Dennis finally found the back of the net, sending the Laurier crowd into a frenzy. The goal injected new life into the Golden Hawks, who took control of the game from that moment on.

As tensions continued to rise, Windsor's frustrations became evident. 

Windsor's Devin Hernandez picked up a yellow card for an aggressive tackle, as Windsor struggled to contain Laurier's momentum. 

The Golden Hawks continued to press and, in the 76th minute, their pressure paid off when Yusef Rehman doubled the team's lead. Rehman's goal resulted from a well-constructed team play, which left the Windsor defence scrambling to keep up.

Laurier wasn't done yet. Just a few minutes later, in the 80th minute, Luigi Bello put the game beyond Windsor's reach with a third goal - also his first in the OUA - depositing an expertly delivered ball by Alex Babol into the back of the net.

Bello's goal was the final blow to Windsor's hopes of mounting a comeback. The Golden Hawks applied pressure until the final whistle, securing a well-deserved win in their final regular season home game and solidifying a playoff spot for a second consecutive season with one match to go.

After the match, Bello expressed his excitement regarding his first goal with the Golden Hawks and how he and the team are looking forward to Saturday's game and gaining another three points. 

Laurier head coach Mario Halapir expressed that the team eliminated their errors in the match and was proud of how they pressured the Lancers to pick up the win after dropping four of their last five games.

 
Thank you, Tristan

Before kick-off, Laurier recognized their lone graduating student-athlete, Tristan Greenidge, last year's Team Rookie of the Year.

Up Next

The  Golden Hawks (5-5-1) will look to carry this momentum into their re-match at Windsor (0-10-1) this Saturday to conclude the regular season. Kick-off at Alumni Stadium is 1 pm. 

Catch the match live on OUA.tv or follow @WLUAthletics on X for updates.
 

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