Off to a flier from the first whistle, the black shirts swarmed all over their opponents and within the opening five minutes, Emma Khan had flashed a shot off the post while Labadie drew a save off Hoskins in the visitors' goal. Seconds later, Roselyn Kyeame controlled nicely but fired waywardly and Ruffer couldn't connect with Labadie's cross.
Marisaa Martin responded for Youngstown at the other end, firing from just outside the box but it did little to trouble Western's Heber. The Broncos would, however, get rewarded for their dominance 20 minutes before the end of the half when Alex Ruffer set up Tiffany Buckler.