Trio of extra time goals sends Mustangs to OUA Final Four

LONDON, Ont. – It was a late win on Sunday afternoon as the Western Mustangs women's soccer team scored three goals in extra time to claim a 3-0 victory over the Guelph Gryphons in OUA quarterfinal action at Mustangs Field.
 
Although unable to break the score for the first 90 minutes, the Mustangs dominated the game and maintained possession for almost the full game. In both halves there was a lot of action in the middle of the field, with the Mustangs executing good passing and ball control to keep the ball away from the Gryphons. As the first half ended, the scoreboard sat at 0-0, with both teams unable to gain the lead.
 
In the second half the Mustangs began to post more pressure on the Gryphons' keeper, however the ball was not finding it's way into the net. Fending off any threat posed by Guelph, Western's defensive line remained strong all game. With time winding down the purple and white continued to make offensive attacks to try and get a victory in regular time, however, with the scoreboard still blank the game would have to go to extra time.
 
"Credit to Guelph, they made things extremely difficult, they played extremely well; they're a very good team, very well organized," said Mustangs head coach Martin Painter on Sunday's quarterfinal victory. "Motivation wasn't the challenge [for us]: it was more the composure and the quality, which we finally got."
 
As 30 minutes of extra time kicked off, Western proved that they were ready to claim a spot in the OUA semi-finals. Continuing the heavy offensive pressure, their efforts paid off when Amanda Boyle netted a goal for the purple and white, putting them up 1-0. The Mustangs would not stop there, as both Lauren Winquist and Paige Howard both contributed goals to increase the lead to 3-0, which Western held onto until the final whistle.
 
Sunday's victory earns the Mustangs a spot in the OUA Final Four, and the Mustangs will take on the lowest remaining seed from the OUA East Division on Saturday, November 1, at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton.
 
"I think the girls are going to be ready for a good, solid week of training and then ready for a big game Saturday," noted Painter. "We don't know who we're playing yet, but it'll be a tough game regardless. We'll be ready; we're one game away from going back to nationals, which has been our goal all year."

Source: Western Mustangs