Mustangs top Lancers 2-0 to extend unbeaten streak to nine
LONDON, Ont. - A successful penalty kick by Jenna White in the 30th minute proved to be the game winner for the Western Mustangs women's soccer team as they defeated the Windsor Lancers 2-0 on Wednesday evening at Mustangs Field.
LONDON, Ont. - A successful penalty kick by Jenna White in the 30th minute proved to be the game winner for the Western Mustangs women's soccer team as they defeated the Windsor Lancers 2-0 on Wednesday evening at Mustangs Field.
"I thought we started the game very well, said Mustangs head coach Martin Painter. "I thought we had a lot of possession in the first half, we had some good movement, some good ideas. We got the goal on a penalty shot, which was actually the result of a good build up. And then the second half was more of an even game. Credit to Windsor, they made it a little more difficult for us to play."
The win is the Mustangs' seventh of the season gives the team a 7-0-2 record, keeping them in first place in the OUA West Division. The loss moves the Lancers to 4-5-0, tied for fourth in the West with Guelph.
Rough play by the Lancers in their own box led to the referee calling a penalty kick for the purple and white. After taking a perfect penalty last game, White was called on to do it again, and although Windsor keeper Krystin Law chose the correct side of the net to dive, White's ball was low and directly into the right corner, nearly impossible for any goalie to stop.
"I just go up, and [the] keeper's probably more nervous than I am. That's my mentality going into it," said White when asked about taking penalty shots. "Usually I just pick a corner and hit it as hard as I can that way."
The first goal may have been off of a penalty, but the Mustangs earned the opportunity as they took six shots on Law and maintained possession for much of the first half. With the Mustangs holding onto the ball the Lancers couldn't generate much offence, only getting off one shot on Western's Tori Edgar.
Eager to fix the one goal deficit, the Lancers came hard into the second half. The visitors applied pressure to the first place Mustangs, making their way into the Western half on numerous occasions.
Despite the added offensive pressure the Western defence stepped up to protect Edgar. Edgar faced only two shots and saved them both, earning herself a shutout. On the other end of the field, Law was busy facing seven shots and saving six in the second half.
In added time, Amanda Boyle strengthened the Western lead, taking a touch past the Lancer defence and putting the ball into the Windsor mesh to secure the 2-0 win.
The Mustangs will now aim to extend their undefeated streak to 10 games on Sunday, September 27, as part of Western's Homecoming Weekend. Game time is set for 12 p.m. against the York Lions on Mustangs Field.
"We know a lot about York. They've got a really good team, a very skillful team," said Painter. "We're gonna have to have our best game of the season."
Source: Western Mustangs