The Lady Mustang's dropped their regular-season opener to (RV) Ottawa on Thursday Night 3-1 in Surprise, Arizona. The game was scoreless at the half but the second half saw Ottawa put in 3 goals to the Lady Mustang's 1. Ottawa scored first in the 49^th minute but USW answered right back with a goal of their own in the 50^th minute. Ottawa added two more goals later and the Mustangs were unable to answer.  The lone goal scored by USW was scored by Senior Priscilla Garcia. Ottawa was very aggressive offensively in the contest, recording 22 shots to the Mustang's 8. 
 
Regarding the performance, Head Coach D'Angelo Garcia said "It's not every day you get to compete against a team who is receiving national recognition. With a couple of games getting postponed/canceled, tonight was our first true test of the season. We got off to a slow start however I felt as the game went on, we started to find and build our rhythm. The game was well balanced in the first half in terms of possession however we did miss a couple of golden opportunities in front of goal that could've been difference makers. Unfortunately, one of our key players and team captain, Lauren Zarate, suffered an injury late into the first half and wasn't able to return. I felt like this was a turning point and our effort/ ambition collectively wasn't the same. The Arizona heat is no joke and I felt this played a factor in our performance. Hopefully, if Lauren can return healthy to play and everybody can heal from a tough performance, we will just be fine. For now, our focus is on Embry-Riddle, another quality team that is familiar with the national tournament. Hopefully, we can compete and play the best we can in some much cooler weather." 
 
The previously mentioned Priscilla Garcia recorded 3 shots on goal and one goal scored in the contest. Freshman Goalkeeper Kristina Simpson faced 15 shots on goal, recorded 12 saves and the 3 goals allowed. Coach Garcia had some praise for them saying "On the bright side, I am proud of some girls who stepped up and played in positions they've never played in before. I'm also proud of our freshman goalkeeper Kristina Simpson for stepping up and playing fantastic making quality saves throughout the game. Priscilla Garcia had an excellent finish that was an immediate answer to their first goal so overall, I am not too upset about our first performance in this dry Arizona heat."
 
The Lady Mustangs will be back in action on Saturday against (RV) Embry Riddle in Prescott, Arizona which should be another tough test.