MUSTANGS WEEKEND ROUND UP

Football

No. 10 Western 23, No. 2 Ottawa 16

OTTAWA, Ont. - The Western Mustangs are going to the Yates Cup after a  23-16 second-half comeback win over the No. 2 Ottawa Gee-Gees.
 

Trailing 16-4 at the half, Western scored 19 unanswered points with the winning touchdown catch coming on a 48-yard strike from QB Michael Faulds (Eden Mills, Ont.) to David Clayton who was wide open along the sideline.

Clayton eluded a tackle and scampered in for the game-winning touchdown. It was his second of the game.

Faulds found Clayton from 62 yards in the third quarter and from 48 yards with two minutes left in regulation.

Then in the dying seconds, rookie Mustang linebacker John Surla fell on the ball off an Ottawa fumble to score the final six points. The fumble occurred on the final play of the game, after Schiavone missed a field goal attempt. With the clock running out Ottawa was trying to get the ball out of the end zone in a must-score situation and fumbled while trying to lateral the ball.

Gee-Gees fifth year kicker Ara Tchobanian, the CIS regular season scoring leader with 106 points, clanked a 25-yard field goal attempt off the upright in the first quarter before hitting from 13, 24 and 38 yards in the second quarter of his last university game. Clayton finished with 219 receiving yards on nine catches as Faulds was good on 17 of 35 passes for 318 yards.

The Mustangs, which began the season 0-4 , won a sixth straight game, improving to 7-1 against the Gee-Gees in the playoffs since 1966. 
 

Western opened the scoring with a field goal from Derek Schiavone early in the first quarter.

Then, with Ottawa pressing, safety Matt Carapella picked off Josh Sacobie in the endzone to prevent an Ottawa score. It was a spectacular leaping catch from the safety, who missed the last contest against Ottawa with an injury. Western's defence was great on the day, allowing just one touchdown on the day. Ottawa took several penalties in the opening quarter that gave Western second opportunities several times, including a pass interference call that set up the opening Schiavone field goal.

Tchobanian missed a 25-yard field goal late in the quarter but made amends kicking two field goals in the second quarter from 13 and 24 yards to give Ottawa the 6-3 lead. Then Derek Schiavone's punt was bobbled in the endzone by the Gee-Gees returner Justin Wood-Roy resulting in a a single to make it 6-4 Ottawa early in the second quarter.

Gee-Gees running back Davie Mason ran the ball in 36 yards 13-4 for Ottawa late in the second quarter. He had 115 yards in the first half. Tchobanian booted a 38-yard field goal to make it 16-4 for Ottawa at the end of the half.
 

Faulds, who was brilliant in the second half, was picked off twice in the opening 30 minutes. Western then came alive, with the defence shutting out the nation's No. 2 team in the second half. Gee-Gees quarterback Josh Sacobie finished with 18 completions in 42 attempts for 271 yards yards and two interceptions in the eighth playoff game of his four-year career, but hit several open receivers who flat-put dropped the ball to the dismay of 2,029 at Frank Clair Stadium.  Mason, who finished with 17 carries for 163 yards, was hit hard on his first rush of the third quarter, a 15-yard gain, limping off the field favouring his left side. He returned in the fourth quarter but limped off once more following a 16-yard gain. Western's defence forced a pile of two-and-outs in the second half to force the Gee-Gees defence to stay on the field for a good chunk of the final 30 minutes.

Faulds was brilliant on the ground running for four first downs in the game had 73 rushing yards in the game with Randy McAuley only managing 10 yards on the ground. Nick Kordic, Surla and Carapella were brilliant, especially in the second half, as the Western defence gave the offence the opportunity to launch the comeback. After knocking down a pass and playing tough in the secondary, the Western defence forced a turnover on downs after taking the 17-16 lead. They marched the ball down into Gee-Gees territory and took the remaining time off the clock with the players linked in arms on the sidelines to show true team solidarity. Western will now look to act revenge after a regular-season loss to Guelph. At stake a trip to the Churchill Bowl and the Yates Cup championship. Western is riding a six-game winning streak and has beaten teams they lost two in the regular season twice in a row. The Mustangs hope Guelph will be the third.
 

Of note, Faulds has proven to be a clutch player with his gritty second half performance. He's finally healthy in the post-season guides his team to victory.4

 

Men's Soccer
 

Nov. 3

OTTAWA, Ont. - The men's soccer team is off to nationals after a 2-1 victory in the OUA semi-finals over the Carleton Ravens

Tied at 1-1, Michel Daoust scored in the 90th minute and the Western Mustangs earned the victory in the OUA semi-final against Final Four hosts, the Carleton Ravens. After Carleton scored in the 33rd minute, courtsey of Paul Waiganjo, Western scored twice in the second half for the victory with goals from Mike Sawchuk (London, Ont.) and Michel Daoust (Hunter River, PEI).

In the other semi-final, the York Lions defeated Queen's 1-0. York and Western compete for the OUA title on Nov. 4.

The Mustangs and Lions will represent the OUA at the 2007 CIS National Championships, in Vancouver, B.C, Nov. 9-11. 

Ranked No. 3 in Canada, Western came into Keith Harris Stadium and knew they would have to face both the No. 1 ranked Carleton Ravens and the more than 500 pro-Carleton fans.  The match started off with both powerhouses feeling each other out as defence was the key to the first 20 minutes of play. 

The Ravens started to build momentum from their play and at the 33rd minute Thang Nguyen (Gloucester, Ont.) found Waiganjo (Ottawa, Ont.) open to the right of Western’s net and he finished his shot to put the home team up one goal. 

Carleton kept the pressure on Western and was able to take the goal lead into the half at 1-0.

The second half belonged to the visitors, as Western came out strong and controlled the play especially in the midfield and won most of the battles in the air. 

Their persistence payed off at the 68th minute when Sawchuk headed home a Daoust cross to tie the match at 1-1. 

The Mustangs continued to pressure Carleton, but Ravens' goalkeeper Karl Wasslen (Ottawa, Ont.) made a number of saves to keep it close.

Daoust then tallied in the 90th minute to seal the victory.

He took a pass from Mustang goalkeeper and OUA West Division MVP Haidar Al Shaibani (London, Ont.) in what looked like a harmless clearing. But the fourth-year veteran striker turned it into the winning goal as he beat two Ravens defenders and Wasslen for the winner.

Scoring Summary

Western            0          2          =  2

Carleton            1          0          =  1

Goals:

1st Half:

33:00 Carleton:  Waiganjo (Nguyen)

2nd Half:

68:00 Western:  Sawchuk (Daoust)

90:00 Western:  Daoust (Al Shaibani)

 

Nov. 4

York defeats Mustangs in penalty kicks on OUA Championship Final

With spot at nationals already secure (Western plays Trinity Western at 2 p.m. Eastern on Thursday), Mustangs came back twice before falling in penalty kicks. Dante Biscaro forced OT and then Mark Pocrnic tied game in OT.
 

OTTAWA, Ont. -The York Lions are the 2007 OUA men’s soccer champions, as they defeated the Western Mustangs 3-2 on Penalty Kicks to win their first OUA soccer crown since the 1970s. 

York and Western played an exciting, up-tempo soccer match at Carleton University’s Keith Harris Stadium. The Lions had not defeated Western for entering the game, as York tied and lost to Western during the OUA West regular season.

Twice, the Lions scored what they figured to be the winning goal on Nov. 4, only to have the Mustangs come from behind and tie the championship match up and force the penalty kicks.

The first half was not your typical post-season defensive match, as was expected. The two OUA West teams went at each other looking for the first goal of the game. Both teams had several great chances to open the scoring, but the defence won the first half as both teams went into the intermission with a scoreless deadlock. 
 

In the second half, the Lions went right to attacking Western and it paid off as they scored the game’s first goal at the 69th minute by Douglas Sereti (Brampton, Ont.). The goal ignited Western who mounted an attack of their own led by OUA All-Star Dante Biscaro (Ottawa, Ont.) who scored the tying goal at the 75th minute of play. 

The final 15 minutes belonged to both Western’s goalkeeper Haidar Al Shaibani (London, Ont.) and York tender Ramon McIntosh  (Toronto) who made brilliant saves to keep their respective teams in the match.  

While it took nearly 90 minutes to score two goals during regulation time, the referees whistle hardly blew to start overtime before York’s Francesco Bruno (Toronto) gave the Lions back the lead as he scored in the 91st minute (first minute of overtime) of play. 

But Western came back, as they did all weekend long, as Mark Pocrnic (London, Ont.) tied the match at the 98th minute of play. No goals were scored in the second OT period so the game needed to be decided by penalty kicks.         

In penalties, the story and title belonged to York, in addition to four York players scoring their penalty shot attempts, McIntosh stopped one of Western’s shots to seal the Lions' championship.
 

Both teams advance to the CIS National Championship Tournament, hosted by UBC, in Vancouver, next weekend, Nov. 8-11.

In the Bronze Medal Match, the Queen’s University Golden Gaels edged the host Carleton University Ravens, 1-0. 
 

CHAMPIONSHIP SCORING SUMMARY

York           0  1  1  0  (4) = 3

Western     0  1  1  0  (2) = 2

Goals:

1st Half:

None

2nd Half:

69:00 York:  Sereti (Reid)

75:00 Western:  Biscaro (Sawchuk)

1st Overtime:

91:00 York:  Bruno (Sereti)

98:00 Western: Pocrnic (Sawchuk)

2nd Overtime:

None

Penalty Kicks:

York: Bruno, Ruscetta, Alberti, L Forno (4)

Western: Daoust, Meagher  (2)

Goalkeepers: 

York:  McIntosh- 10-Saves

Western:  Al Shaibani 14-Saves

 

CIS Nationals

First round match-ups announced for Nationals

Nov. 4, 2007

OTTAWA (CIS) – New CIS men’s soccer champions will be crowned next Sunday in Vancouver and the national tournament hosted by UBC looks to be as wide open as ever.

Championship web site: www.universitysport.ca/e/championships/m_soccer/2007 

No team has won back-to-back Sam Davidson Memorial Trophies since the Laurier Golden Hawks in 2000 and 2001, a situation that won’t change next weekend as the 2006 champion Alberta Golden Bears were ousted by the Trinity Western Spartans in the Canada West semi-finals, on Friday.

With the win, the Spartans avenged a heartbreaking 1-0 loss in last year’s CIS final.

The field for this year’s Nationals is as strong as it has been in recent memory, with three conference champions, the Cape Breton Capers, Laval Rouge et Or and York Lions, having suffered but one loss apiece all season.

The Spartans, fresh off their second straight Canada West title, did drop two mid-season matches but enter the CIS tournament on a seven-game undefeated streak.
 

The championship gets under way Thursday with the quarter-finals, with the gold-medal final scheduled for 3 p.m. Pacific Time on Sunday. The all-Canadian teams and major award winners will be announced on Wednesday night. 

Thursday’s single-elimination opening round will see Trinity Western square off against the OUA finalist Western Ontario Mustangs at 11 a.m. PT; Cape Breton battle QSSF regular-season champion Montreal at 1:30 p.m. PT; York meet the AUS finalist Saint Mary’s Huskies at 4:30 p.m. PT; and Laval face the tournament host and Canada West finalist UBC Thunderbirds at 7 p.m. PT.

Trinity Western (silver), Montreal (bronze), Laval (fourth), Western Ontario (fifth) and Saint Mary’s (sixth) all return from last year’s CIS tourney, while UBC holds the record with 10 Davidson Trophy wins, the last one in 2005.

Note: a complete championship preview will follow on Tuesday.
 

PARTICIPATING TEAMS

AUS champions: Cape Breton Capers (8-1-4 regular season, 2-0 playoffs)

AUS finalists: Saint Mary’s Huskies (8-1-4 regular season, 1-1 playoffs)

QSSF champions: Laval Rouge et Or (6-1-5 regular season, 2-0 playoffs)

QSSF regular season champions: Montreal Carabins (6-1-5 regular season, 0-1 playoffs)

OUA champions: York Lions (11-1-2 regular season, 3-0 playoffs)

OUA finalists: Western Ontario Mustangs (9-1-4 regular season, 2-1 playoffs)

Canada West champions: Trinity Western Spartans (11-2-1 regular season, 2-0 playoffs)

Canada West finalists: UBC Thunderbirds (6-5-3 regular season, 1-1 playoffs)

 

Men's Hockey

Wolves Win in OTS again vs. No. 7 Stangs

By Mike Aylward, Lakehead Thunderwolves
 

THUNDER BAY, Ont. - Mike Wehrstedt’s 8th round shootout marker gave the Lakehead Thunderwolves their second consecutive shootout win over the visiting No. 7 Western Mustangs in a thriller at the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay on Nov. 3. The win puts Lakehead's record at 6-2 in OUA play good for 12 points in the OUA Far West Division while the Mustangs, who are 5-2-2 in OUA action (8-5-1 overall), also have 12 points. 

Lakehead’s better win record and two head-to-head wins against Western puts the T-Wolves in first place in the division.

Western freshman netminder Keyvan Hunt played a fantastic game for the Mustangs, making a number of big saves throughout the game.  Ryan Hare played an excellent game for Western, getting a goal and two assists, while the other Mustangs goals came from Luc Martin and Ryan Martinelli.  Thunderwolves' captain Andrew Brown and netminder Chris Whitley were the other Lakehead heroes as Brown netted two goals and Whitley turned in his second consecutive shootout win, displaying nerves of steel in the Lakehead cage.  Dan Speer scored Lakehead’s other goal.  Mark Soares and Pierre-Marc Guillbault also played very well, notching two helpers apiece.  Shots on goal were 41-29 Lakehead in the game.  
 

Penalties were costly for the Mustangs as Lakehead got two of their markers with the man advantage. 

Whitley was strong in the opening period, making a great save to rob Kyle Piowarczyk at 7:40 during a Western powerplay. 

Lakehead went on the powerplay and Brown got his first of the night at 10:55. Minutes later, Hunt made an incredible diving glove save at 14:50 to rob Lakehead’s Soares to keep it 1-0 Lakehead after the first. The second period saw Lakehead apply some early pressure and Hunt making good stops during the first five minutes. Whitley then made a good save off Western’s Jeff Martens at 8:39.  Western then applied pressure and were rewarded at 9:51 when Hare scored a great tip-in goal off a pass from Sal Peralta with the other assist going to Kevin Richardson.  The Mustangs took a 2-1 lead at 15:53 when Ryan Martinelli fired a rocket over Whitley’s shoulder assisted by Marcus Smith and Piwowarczyk.  But Lakehead came back at 14:51 to tie the game 2-2, when Dan Speer perfectly converted a 2-on-1 rush with Soares. The Wolves then put on the pressure and Hunt made two big saves and Lakehead’s Matt Maisonneuve fanned on an open net at 19:35.

Hunt, who attended the Vancouver Canucks training camp in the fall, made a number of key saves saves during the first nine minutes of the third, while Whitley countered with a big save of his own to rob Jesse Boucher at 9:15. 

Play went back and forth and Hunt flashed his glove to deny Lakehead’s Shandor Alphonso and then made a series of big stops during a Lakehead powerplay. 

Western, under pressure, quickly broke up the ice at 15:38 and Luc Martin converted a beautiful pass from Ryan Hare to give the Mustangs a 3-2 lead, the other assist went to Sal Peralta. 

Lakehead applied furious pressure for the next few minutes and then Western took a too-many-men minor and a cross-checking minor to go down two men with 1:28 left. 

Lakehead Head Coach Don McKee decided to pull netminder Whitley to give Lakehead six attackers against three defenders. 

The Wolves barraged the Western goal and Hunt made another series of great saves and it seemed the Mustangs would get the win. 

However, Lakehead’s Brown banged the puck in with three seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 3-3 to put the game into overtime.

Lakehead started the OT with the man advantage but neither team could get much going and the game went to shootout for the second consecutive night.

Shootout

Round 1 - WES – Sal Peralta was stopped by Whitley with a nice pad save.

Round 1 - LAK - Kris Hogg was denied by Western’s Hunt with a quick pad save.

Round 2 - WES - Jesse Boucher was stopped by the Wolves Whitley.

Round 2 - LAK - Dan Speer  did a nice fake but fired it wide of the Western goal

Round 3 - WES - Kevin Richardson was robbed by a big pad save by Whitley.

Round 3 - LAK - Tobias Whelan shoots wide of the Stangs goal.

Shootout Sudden Death:

Round 4 - WES - Kyle Piwowarczyk skates in quickly and beats Whitley 5-hole with a low hard wrist shot. 

Round 4 - LAK - Brock McPherson made a great fake and tucks the puck past a sprawled Hunt.

Round 5 - WES - Ryan Hare shoots wide for the Stangs.

Round 5 - LAK - Mark Soares makes a great deke but is robbed by a fantastic toe save by Hunt.

Round 6 - WES - Jeff Martens can’t beat Whitley who stops his high shot. 

Round 6 - LAK - Andrew Brown is denied by a pad save by Hunt.

Round 7 - WES - Kyle Lamb is denied by a glove save by Whitley.

Round 7 - LAK - Shandor Alphonso is robbed by a great glove save by Hunt.

Round 8 - WES - Peter Franchin is truly robbed as Whitley is dropped by Franchin’s fake but makes an incredible glove save while on his stomach. 

Round 8 - LAK - Mike Wehrstedt skates in hard and blasts a rocket over Hunt’s left shoulder to give Lakehead the win. 

 

The Molson’s Three Stars, as chosen by Reuben Villagracia of the Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal, were:

1) Lakehead: Andrew Brown

2) Lakehead: Chris Whitley

3) Western: Keyvan Hunt

SCORING SUMMARY

Western 3 at Lakehead 4 (SO) - Status: Final SO   Nov 3, 2007.

1st Period

Scoring

1. Lakehead, A. Brown (4) (K. Hogg, M. Jacques) 10:55 PP

Penalties - A. Zulyniak Lak (tripping) 5:41, P. Ouellet Wes (closing hand on puck) 10:07, M. Manias Wes (hooking) 13:50

2nd Period

Scoring

2. Western, R. Hare (4) (S. Peralta, K. Richardson) 9:51 

3. Western, R. Martinelli (1) (M. Smith, K. Piwowarczyk) 14:53 

4. Lakehead, D. Speer (4) (M. Soares, P. Guilbault) 15:21 

Penalties - K. Richardson Wes (unsportsmanlike cnd.) 4:49, J. Ertl Wes (roughing) 6:33, M. Maunu Lak (roughing) 6:33, K. Richardson Wes (slashing) 15:58, M. Smith Wes (roughing) 17:50, B. McPherson Lak (roughing) 17:50

3rd Period

Scoring

5. Western, L. Martin (4) (S. Peralta, R. Hare) 15:38 

6. Lakehead, A. Brown (5) (P. Guilbault, M. Soares) 19:57 

Penalties - Served by S. Courtney Wes (too many men) 13:01, Served by J. Martens Wes (too many men) 18:54, C. Petrow Wes (cross checking) 19:50

OT Period

Scoring - No Scoring

Penalties - No Penalties

WES Shots: 5 14 10 0 0 TOTAL: 29

LAK Shots: 8 16 16 0 1 TOTAL: 41

Power Play Conversion: Western 0-1. Lakehead 2-7.

Goaltenders - Western (Hunt 3-1-0-1 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 60:00 SV: 37 GA: 3 [SL]); Lakehead (Whitley 4-0-0-0 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 60:00 SV: 26 GA: 3 [W])