The Western Mustangs women’s football team went undefeated in their first invitational tournament championship as they won all of their six games at McMaster University this past weekend.

In the final game on Sunday afternoon, the Mustangs squeezed by and defeated the Sir Wilfred Laurier Golden Hawks 7-6. The Warriors decided to go for two after scoring their only touchdown of the game, but failed as Mustangs outside linebacker Sarah Welch batted the ball to the frozen turf.

Impressively, the Mustangs outscored their opponents 136-13 by the end of the tournament. They hope to maintain a dominant reputation heading into the next tournament this coming weekend at the University of Toronto.

The McMaster invitational began with a commanding win against a young McMaster team, mostly made up of first year players. Running back Kristina Chung opened up the scoring with a rushing touchdown on the first drive of the game.

“I wasn’t expecting to get that touchdown, but I saw the hole, I ran [through] it and then I just saw the rest of the field, so I just ran it in [the endzone],” said Chung, speaking on her first score of the weekend.

Head Coach Hakeem “Squid” Sadiq spoke to the team’s performance on Saturday morning and explained why he believes the first touchdown from Chung was the highlight of day one.

“The team came out focused which was really important to us,” said Sadiq. “We wanted to make sure we came out strong; we came out aggressive and ready to play, and I think we hit all those goals pretty well. Our first touchdown was an inside run that broke for like 30 yards and it really got momentum swinging in our favour and really set the tone for the day.”

The purple ponies went on to win the game 20-0, followed by another shutout performance against the more experienced McMaster team 14-0.

The Mustangs finally showed some weakness in their secondary as the Waterloo Warriors women’s team scored a touchdown on a post route that went the distance. However, the Warriors touchdown didn’t affect the Mustangs attitude as the score would be the only points Waterloo would be able to sum up that game. The touchdown would also be the only points the solid Mustangs defence would allow on the first day of the tournament.

Mustangs defensive coordinator Chris Toth commented on his defence’s performance after day one.

“Honestly nothing surprised me about the defence today,” said Toth. “They’ve been working for the past five months and they’ve been lights out every time we [scrimmaged] our own offence. So, honestly, I wasn’t shocked. I expected them to play this well and they went out there and performed.”

Toth also mentioned who he thought the tournament’s defensive MVP was through the first three games.

“So far, I would say [the MVP] would be [Katrena Athwal], our free safety,” said Toth. “Normally she is our strong safety, but we had an injury and she stepped in two days before the tournament. She [had] two picks and she’s really been communicating back there.”

Offensive coordinator Jordan Pizzuti talked about the team’s presence on the sideline and the energy these young women brought to Hamilton this weekend.

“The girls are feeding off of each other,” said Pizzuti. “We’re making big plays on both sides of the ball and it gets the girls pumped up. They were ready to play and they’ve been ready to play for five months now and it shows on the field and on the sidelines.

Pizzuti said he had high expectations going into Sunday’s matchups, saying his expectations were, “nothing less than a tournament victory.”

The Mustangs are poised for another undefeated run as they prepare for their weekend visit to the 6ix on February 8-9.