Desperate for a bounce back effort with their playoff hopes suddenly in jeopardy, the Marauders weathered an early setback and found their offensive touch in the second half to earn an important win Wednesday.
McMaster overturned a 1-0 deficit through a half, scoring three goals in the final 45 minutes, and saw out an entertaining 3-2 win over Waterloo at Ron Joyce Stadium.
With the result, Mac improved to 4-3-4 on the season and pulled level with Windsor on 16 points to sit tied for fourth in the OUA West standings.
Defender Cheikh Tchouambou had a goal and an assist in the victory, while Yordan Stoyanov and Dusan Kovacevic also found the back of the net.
Answering for Waterloo in a losing effort, Luka Frankovich opened the scoring in the 11th minute while Sebastian Guerrieri had the night's final goal in the 80th.
The Marauders looked dangerous from the get-go Wednesday, and had several chances to break the deadlock in the opening minutes of the game while bossing possession and, ultimately, outshooting the Warriors 12-2 in the first half.
Unfortunately for the hosts, Waterloo's two shots came on the back of a brutally incisive counterattack, with the first effort completely unmarked and forcing a diving stab from Mac goalkeeper Jesse DiDomenico before Frankovich grabbed hold of the rebound and slotted in.
Despite the frustration of a one-sided half without reward, the Marauders continued to press when they re-emerged from the locker room, and quickly found that their luck had changed.
Just four minutes after the restart, substitute Connor Russell produced an exceptional cross from the right wing and picked out Stoyanov, who made no mistake in heading the ball home to level at 1-1.
McMaster punished Waterloo through the air yet again in the 67th minute to take the lead, with Tchouambou's initial header across the face of goal being met by a diving, headed finish from Kovacevic at the far post.
Crucially, the Marauders were not quite done, as Tchouambou grabbed a goal of his own in the 73rd minute by nodding a corner from Anand Sergeant expertly inside the far post to give the hosts the two-goal lead.
That proved important when the Warriors exploited a moment of indecision in the Marauders 18-yard box, and Guerrieri was left with a gaping net in which to coolly fire home Waterloo's second in the 80th minute.
The goal made for a tense final 10 minutes, but the hosts defended their lead without further issue and secure a much-needed win.
NEXT UP: The Marauders head to Windsor Friday for a match with major playoff implications, as they battle the Lancers in an 8:00 p.m. contest at Alumni Field. Currently tied for fourth position, the final playoff-hosting spot in their division, McMaster and Windsor will settle the season series and tilt that positioning on the penultimate weekend of their OUA seasons.
The two teams tied 1-1 in their previous meeting on the first day of the 2019 season at Ron Joyce Stadium.
