The SMU men's soccer team closed out the 2000 Nike Classic in style with a 4-1 win over George Mason Saturday evening at Westcott Field. The Mustangs have now won four straight games, posting a 4-2 record.

Successful penalty kicks gave both GMU and SMU its first goals (Eduardo Lima at 30:53 for GMU; Luchi Gonzalez at 33:24 for SMU). SMU got its act together and consistently penetrated the Patriots' defense. Mohamed Fahim, the 2000 SMU Nike Classic MVP, scored two of SMU's three goals (63:41 and 80:38). Diego Walsh capped off the Mustang scoring with an unassisted goal with eight seconds remaining in the contest.

Saturday's first game featured a tug-of-war between Tulsa and UNLV. The Golden Hurricane dropped a heartbreaker to UNLV, 1-0. Tulsa (3-2) clearly outplayed the Rebels, outshooting UNLV, 17-4. The Rebels' goalkeeper Robert Ackah kept UNLV into the game, making 16 superb saves. Things looked more grim for UNLV when Tuomas Talvio was issued a red card at 69:55 - UNLV played the rest of the contest one man short. Ryan Bindrup became the hero of the UNLV day when he found the back of the net off a header from a free kick from Tyler Turchi with less than three minutes remaining in the game.

The 2000 SMU Nike Classic All-Tournament team is as follows: Hugh VanWagenen, Eduardo Lima (George Mason); Robbie Aristodemo, Eric Dominguez (Tulsa); Robert Ackah, Andrew Hooker, Brent Storrs (UNLV); Carl Bussey, Matt Whiteley, Tom Dolan, Diego Walsh (SMU); Tournament Most Valuable Player: Mohamed Fahim (SMU).

                            Soccer Box Score (Final)
                            The Automated ScoreBook
              George Mason vs SMU (Sep 16, 2000 at Dallas, Texas)



 George Mason (4-2) vs.                             Goals by Period       1  2  Tot
 SMU (4-2)                                          -------------------------------
 Date: Sep 16, 2000  Attendance: 375                George Mason........  1  0 -  1
 Weather: breezy and pleasant                       SMU.................  1  3 -  4

 George Mason                                    SMU
 Pos. # Player                Sh SOG  G  A      Pos. # Player                Sh SOG  G  A
 ------------------------------------------      ------------------------------------------
 GK   1  Gaskin, Rich........   -   -  -  -      GK   1  Foss, Byron.........   -   -  -  -
 M    6  Soliman, Sherif.....   1   -  -  -      M    4  Hudson, Kevin.......   1   -  -  -
 D    7  Klug, Rob...........   -   -  -  -      M    6  Bussey, Carl........   1   -  -  -
 F    10 Maldonado, Jose.....   1   -  -  -      F    9  Gonzalez, Luchi.....   4   3  1  2
 F    11 Lima, Eduardo.......   3   2  1  -      M    10 Fahim, Mohamed......   3   3  2  -
 D    13 Snee, Charlie.......   1   -  -  -      M    11 Walsh, Diego........   3   2  1  -
 M    14 VanWagenen, Hugh....   -   -  -  -      D    12 Brown, Lee "Crunch".   -   -  -  -
 D    16 Blackburn, Brian....   1   1  -  -      M    13 Whiteley, Matt......   1   1  -  -
 M    18 Lozano, Will........   1   -  -  -      D    14 Kenyon, Ryan........   -   -  -  -
 M    22 Stevens, Gavin......   2   -  -  -      D    15 Dolan, Tom..........   -   -  -  -
 D    23 Nakai, Keith........   1   -  -  -      D    19 Suarez, Toti........   -   -  -  -
      ---------- Substitutes ----------               ---------- Substitutes ----------
      9  Luppert, Steve......   -   -  -  -           7  Corbin, Bret........   1   1  -  -
                                                      20 Boyd, Scott.........   -   -  -  -
         Totals..............  11   3  1  0           24 Sacasa, Carlos......   -   -  -  -

                                                         Totals..............  14  10  4  2


 George Mason                                    SMU
 # Player                 MIN  GA Saves         # Player                 MIN  GA Saves
 ---------------------------------------         ---------------------------------------
 1  Gaskin, Rich........  90:00  4     6         1  Foss, Byron.........  90:00  1     2


 Shots by Period       1  2  Tot                 Saves by Period       1  2  Tot
 -------------------------------                 -------------------------------
 George Mason........  6  5 - 11                 George Mason........  4  2 -  6
 SMU.................  6  8 - 14                 SMU.................  1  1 -  2

 Corner Kicks          1  2  Tot                 Fouls                 1  2  Tot
 -------------------------------                 -------------------------------
 George Mason........  1  3 -  4                 George Mason........  8  8 - 16
 SMU.................  6  5 - 11                 SMU................. 14  7 - 21


 SCORING SUMMARY:
 GOAL   Time Team     ## Goal Scorer              Assists
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  1.   30:53 GMU      11 Lima, Eduardo            Penalty kick
  2.   33:24 SMU       9 Gonzalez, Luchi          Penalty kick
  3.   63:41 SMU      10 Fahim, Mohamed           9 Gonzalez, Luchi
                                                  tap in off corner kick
  4.   80:38 SMU      10 Fahim, Mohamed           9 Gonzalez, Luchi
                                                  tap in off soft feed
  5.   89:52 SMU      11 Walsh, Diego             Unassisted

 CAUTIONS AND EJECTIONS:
 YC-SMU #11 (66:44); YC-GMU #11 (88:38)

 Officials: Referee: Misail Tsapos; Asst. Referee: Aric Bonner; John Navarro;
 Alt. Official: Fernando Galvan; Timekeeper: Robert Guydosh; Scorer: Claire Schmitt;
 Offsides: George Mason 1, SMU 7.