Box Score A few moments of offensive flair served to remind McMaster fans of the talent their team has on offer, as the Marauders blanked the Western Mustangs 2-0 to open their season at home on a positive note Saturday.

Playing in his first match as a Marauder, while his new classmates crowded campus on Move-In Day around him, striker Dusan Kovasevic scored his first career goal to open the scoring for McMaster in the 62nd minute. Teammate Yunus Mollayev added to the home side's lead 11 minutes later to complete the scoring on the day.

Saturday's match was closely-fought affair in its opening half, with neither team able to consistently fashion chances in the face of the other's organized defending. The nil-nil score was the fairest outcome when the referee blew to signal the end of the first 45 minutes and bring about the break.

However, it was the hosts who proved to be the stronger side as they emerged from the halftime team talk, and were almost immediately on the front foot. Kovasevic's tally was the payoff of a long-developing trend, as Sasha Ricciuti's initial ball bounced to the rookie striker unmarked to the right of the Western goal, and he easily side-footed home.

Tasting first blood, the Marauders thirsted for more, and began to pressure particularly down the right flank, where Chris Luxton was putting his pace to good use. It was he who engineered McMaster's second goal in the 73rd minute, breaking down the wing and launching an inch-perfect cross that Mollayev controlled and lashed into the far side netting for 2-0.

Looking comfortable in defending their lead, the Marauders were lightly tested for the remainder of regulation, and saw out an encouraging first foray on the opening day of OUA competition.

They complete their weekend on Sunday with a trip to Windsor to rematch their OUA quarterfinal with the Lancers, who they knocked out of playoff contention a season ago. That match is slated to get underway at 3:00 p.m. at the conclusion of the preceding women's match.