Photo Courtesy: Nav Mohan - 94.9 Radio Western

 

GOJHL

The GOJHL West-leading London Nationals (15-1-0-1) were off this past weekend. They will be taking on the Strathroy Rockets at the Western Fair Sports Centre on Wednesday evening.

Th St. Thomas Stars were in action on Friday and Saturday this past weekend. Friday night’s game was against the Chatham Maroons, who were able to escape Joe Thornton Community Centre with a 3-2 win in double overtime. The winner was scored by Chatham’s Kyle Fisher after St. Thomas tied the game with 11 seconds left in regulation. The Stars were looking to rebound the next night against the Komoka Kings where they would use two powerplay goals to win the game 4-1. Jake Robinson and Cal Horvat both had a goal and two assists on the evening. The Stars will be in Sarnia on Thursday night. They are now 9-7-1-2 and sit fourth in the GOJHL West.

 

High School Football

Here are the senior high school football district championship scores!

 

St. Josephs C.H.S (3-2) – 6 @ Catholic Central H.S (5-0) – 38

 

South C.I (4-1) – 8 @ A.B Lucas S.S (5-0) – 14

 

Western Mustangs

 

Football

The Western Mustangs are 111^th Yates Cup Champions after defeating the Guelph Gryphons 63-14 on Saturday evening. It was Western’s 32^nd Yates Cup (most all-time) as well as their 22^nd consecutive victory which is now a Usports record surpassing the McMaster Marauders (2011-12). After Alex Taylor fumbled the football on the five-yard line on the Mustangs’ opening possession, they would respond in the following times on offence, with Cedric Joseph and Christ Merchant both recording rushing touchdowns, while Mackenzie Ferguson collected his third interception of the playoffs and returned it 36 yards for a touchdown. The Mustangs would lead 39-7 at half, and cruise for the rest of the game. Quarterback Chris Merchant would earn Yates Cup MVP after finishing with 391 all-purpose yards and four total touchdowns. In the past two seasons, Merchant has earned both Uteck Bowl and Vanier Cup MVP honours, was a Usports All-Canadian last season, and now a second-team OUA all-star and Yates Cup MVP this year. Cedric Joseph would finish with 122 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, while Fraser Sopik led the defensive effort with 10 total tackles, seven of which were solo. The Mustangs will now host the Mitchell Bowl next week when they take on the Canada West-Champion Saskatchewan Huskies who upset the Calgary Dinos 43-18 in the Hardy Cup.

 

Hockey

The women’s hockey team had just one game this past weekend, playing in Waterloo against the Warriors. Down 2-1 in the third period, captain Evra Levesque would tie it at 2-2 with three minutes left in the third period. The Mustangs would ultimately fall in overtime though after Waterloo’s Samantha Burbridge scored the game-winner. Western falls to 5-1-0-1 on the season and will host the York Lions on Friday night before playing at Brock on Saturday.

The men’s team finished a five-game homestand with a 3-2 loss to the Windsor Lancers on Friday night. Despite a late goal from Ethan Szypula, it wasn’t enough for the Mustangs to avoid their second loss of the season to the Lancers. Saturday’s game at Ryerson the next night was not any better for Western, as they would fall 5-1 to the team who eliminated them from the playoffs last season. The Stangs will be back in Toronto to take on the Varsity Blues on Friday before returning home to face Brock on Saturday.

 

Soccer

The Western Mustangs women’s soccer team played in the Usports National Championship tournament this past weekend. They would lose their first game against Cape Breton 2-0 which took them out of contention for the gold medal game. They would then narrowly drop their second game to the Laval Rouge et Or 1-0. The injury-plagued Mustangs were eliminated from the National Championship in the minimum amount of games, but they still made their second appearance in as many years, with many players returning next year. Congratulations on another successful season!

 

Basketball

The Mustangs basketball teams played a pair of tough games against the Carleton Ravens and Ottawa Gee Gees this past weekend. The women’s team would lose 79-51 to the Ravens on Friday then fall 84-47 to the Gee Gees on Saturday, while losing Brett Fischer with what appeared to be a serious upper-body injury. The men’s team would lose both their games as well on the weekend, first 82-51 to Carleton then 93-55 to Ottawa. The women’s team is now 1-5 on the year while the men’s team moves to 3-3, with both teams playing in Windsor on Saturday.

 

Volleyball

The Mustangs volleyball teams were in action in Guelph and Waterloo this past weekend. The women’s team dropped both their matches, 3-1 against the Gryphons then in straight sets against the Warriors. The men’s team split their weekend matches, beating Guelph 3-1 then dropping a nail-biter in five sets to Waterloo. The teams will host U of T and Ryerson on Friday and Saturday night at Alumni Hall.

 

Lacrosse

The Western Mustangs Field Lacrosse team are three-time Baggataway Cup Champions after beating the Brock Badgers in the Gold Medal Game 9-8 in overtime. It was the third straight year that the Mustangs and Badgers have met in the Gold Medal Game. Tristan Simeoni would score the only goal in overtime to seal the three-peat for the Mustangs. It is the sixth time the Mustangs have won the CUFLA title in its 33-year existence.