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Women step on the gas

One thing is for certain about this year’s Mustangs women’s soccer team: they show no mercy.
The squad faced off against the McMaster Marauders on Sunday evening at TD Waterhouse Stadium, and despite a strong Marauder attack, the women in purple were able to secure a decisive 5-0 victory.
“Our plan for today was not just to play five minutes, but to play the full 90, tough and intense, and that’s exactly what we did today,” Mustangs assistant coach Sarah Regan said after post-game team victory photos.
Western forward Erin Grand set the tone by scoring a goal within the first 10 minutes of the match. Midfielder Robyn Sudeyko’s curling corner kick found Grand, who headed the ball into the back of the net.
The play throughout most of the first half was characterized by strong competition between the two teams, with the opponents sharing equal possession of the ball.
However, Western’s crew showed they were capable of finishing off their chances and put away two more goals before the first half was over.
The second goal came after an error in judgment by Marauders keeper Michelle Spadafora, allowing Mustang Jenna Schroeder to evade her and score. The third was a well-executed drive into the far corner of the net by second-year midfielder Brenna McConnell.
“Sometimes, it’s just about getting the ball into the back of the net. We had our opportunities and didn’t do it so Western came out and scored on their [opportunities],” McMaster coach Richie Barnett noted.
McMaster came out with a strong offence during the first minutes of the second half, but were repeatedly frustrated by Mustang keeper Marissa Chinn. Despite holding the majority of possession, they could not make it count, missing several corner kicks and a penalty shot by Marauder Samantha Batten.
“I feel like we just haven’t caught any breaks,” third-year McMaster defender Elizabeth Maffett said during the halftime break. “We’ve been playing pretty well. A lot of our games we’ve been outplaying our opponents … but we’re in a bit of a scoring drought.”
Throughout the rest of the second half the game was a struggle, with Western making advances and McMaster quickly driving them back. That was until Mustang striker Steph Pizzitelli managed to break through the defensive line in the 65th minute of the game, scoring from her own rebound.
To top off the series of goals, the first goal scorer was also the last, with Grand putting away the fifth and final Mustang goal in the dying minutes of the game.
Sunday’s victory for the Mustangs comes as a morale booster following Saturday’s disappointing 2-0 defeat at the hands of the Brock Badgers.
“The score was not reflective of how we played at all yesterday, so the girls really came out ready to play today,” Reagan said.
With the win, the Mustangs improve their record to 3-3 and sit fourth in the Ontario University Athletics West standings.
The women will be on the road for their next matches as they travel to Waterloo where they will take on the last place Warriors (0-5-1) and the first place Laurier Golden Hawks (5-0-1).

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