LONDON, Ont. - Picking up a big win against the Brock Badgers on Wednesday in Round 1 of the playoffs, the Marauders women's soccer team was unable to maintain momentum and fell 5-0 to the Western Mustangs in an OUA quarterfinal on Saturday afternoon in London.
After meeting twice during the opening weekend of the 2022 season, Western and McMaster returned to the field for a post-season contest with a berth to the OUA semi-final on the line. In a game that Western controlled from the opening whistle, it was the host Mustangs who came out on top, defeating the Marauders 5-0.
The Mustangs opened the scoring in the 20th minute, finding the back of the net from the spot after being awarded a penalty kick. Western went up 2-0 just five minutes later and took the two goal lead into the halftime break.
Needing a big second half, the Marauders came out of the gates strong but the Mustangs shut them down. Western added a third goal in the 58th minute and extended the lead to four in the 81st minute of play. The hosts recorded their fifth and final goal in injury time to pick up a convincing victory and earn a spot in the OUA semi-final.
Western recorded 15 shots throughout the contest, eight of which were on target, while holding the visitors to zero shots. Ali Mudie (Burlington, Ont.) tallied three saves throughout the contest for the Marauders.
The No. 1 seed in the OUA West, the Mustangs will now host the Ottawa Gee-Gees, the No. 2 seed in the East on Wednesday November 2nd in an OUA semi-final.
With the result on Saturday, the Marauders just miss the OUA Final Four and finish the season with a 6-3-5 record. McMaster will now look towards the 2023 season.
