Box Score WATERLOO, Ont. - The Laurier Golden Hawks and the #9-ranked Western Mustangs battled hard in a tightly contested OUA match-up on Sunday between two undefeated squads, but it was Western who came away with their record unscathed, edging out a 1–0 win at Ansley Alumni Field.

Laurier came out strong, maintaining steady possession and pressing the Western defense early.

Midfielder Ashley Greco created several opportunities off corner kicks, keeping Mustang goalkeeper Samantha St. Croix busy.

Greco's service paired with Annick Lariviere's header at the 16th minute forced a tough save.

Later in the half, Jessica Breda, Jada Johnson, and Greco all fired on target, but St. Croix turned away each chance.

Defensively, Laurier's back line was sharp, with Tamara Lisser anchoring play with her trademark powerful clearances and Kayla Merkley repeatedly winning challenges to disrupt Western's advances.

Goalkeeper Mya Brodrecht was composed, stopping Western's best look of the half from Mara Sanauceanu in the 29th minute. The half ended scoreless, with Laurier out-shooting the Mustangs.

Western regrouped after the break, pressing higher and generating more chances. Lowyn Weber nearly broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute when her strike rattled the crossbar.

Laurier responded with strong defending, highlighted by Noella Grant's shot on target at the 62nd minute, which was denied once again by St. Croix.

The breakthrough came in the 72nd minute when Western substitute Emma Thomson capitalized on a chance inside the box, blasting a shot past a frozen Brodrecht for the game's lone goal.

Despite yellow cards issued to both sides late in the half, Laurier kept pushing. Stephanie Geady fired just high in the 80th minute, and Greco's set-pieces continued to test the Western defense, but the Golden Hawks couldn't find the equalizer.

While Laurier generated more shots on target, Western's efficiency and Thomson's timely strike sealed the result.

The loss extended the Golden Hawks' winless streak against the Mustangs to seven straight matches. Since 2015, Western has Laurier's number, holding the Golden Hawks to just one victory in the span of 18 meetings.

Head coach Barry MacLean expressed optimism after the match, noting "it's our first loss, and its one of those were we have to find a way to regroup and put it behind us."

"We let them get in the game, obviously made a couple tactic changes that we didn't adapt well to them early," MacLean said. "[Western] were probably the dominant team from 45 to 60 minutes and after that it was going back-and-forth. First half, I thought we were the team that created all the chances."

Laurier defender Vanessa Bentrovato emphasized the team's determination to earn all six points in their upcoming game against McMaster.

"It was a tough loss because the team came in confident and I thought we had a good chance in the first half when the goalie fumbled the ball. Player-wise, our entre-backs did a good job to keep us in the game."

The purple and gold head into that fixture now sitting fourth in a log-jammed OUA West division; one point ahead of fifth-place Brock and one point behind third-place Windsor. 


Up Next:
The Laurier Golden Hawks (3-1-3) take on the McMaster Marauders (2-3-1) on Friday September 26th.
 
Kickoff is set for 6 pm at Ron Joyce Stadium in Hamilton and will be live-streamed free on OUA.tv