Grand tallies twice as Western splits weekend games

Oct. 17: Western 1 Brock 0 / Oct. 18: McMaster 3 Western 2

By Andy Watson

LONDON, Ont. - The parity in the OUA West division in women's soccer showed this weekend with Western defeating a team ranked higher and losing to a team sitting lower in the standings.

With just two games remaining in the regular season, the Western Mustangs are in the hunt for a home playoff date and sit in fourth place after splitting the Oct. 17-18 weekend games.

Western (6-6-0, 4th place OUA West) defeated third-place Brock 1-0 after a first-half goal from Erin Grand on Oct. 17. Marissa Chinn earned clean sheet for the Mustangs.

On Oct. 18, the Mustangs were not as fortunate, losing 3-2 to the McMaster Marauders in Hamilton, Ont. Tara Dawdy scored twice and Maria Cusimano scored once for the host Marauders in the first half, leading 3-0 at the break. Sydney Harrison (70th minute) and Stephanie Pizzitelli (82nd minute) tallied for the Mustangs in the second half.

Western sits in fourth place with 18 points, but fifth-place Windsor (4-4-4, 16 points) and sixth-place McMaster (4-5-3) could still catch the Mustangs in the standings. But a Western win on either Oct. 24 against Guelph or on Oct. 25 against York  would solidify a post-season spot.

If Western wins both, they will be in a position to host a quarter-final game on Oct. 28.