Mustangs To Face Temple In First Round Of Conference Tournament
Oct 29 | Women's Soccer
| SMU (6-13-0, 2-7-0 The American) vs. Temple (11-7-1, 3-5-1 The American) | |
| Date & Start Time | Friday, Oct. 31 at 4:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. CT |
| Location | Orlando, Florida |
| Championship Information | TheAmerican.org |
| Tournament Bracket | Bracket (.pdf) |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Notes | SMU (.pdf) | The American (.pdf) |
| Season Stats | Season Stats (.pdf) |
| /SMUMustangs | /SMUSoccerW | |
| @SMUMustangs | @SMUSoccerW | |
DALLAS (SMU) - The SMU women's soccer team takes on the Temple Owls in the opening round of the American Athletic Conference Championships on Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. CT in Orlando, Florida.
The Mustangs, seeded ninth, defeated the Owls, the eighth seed, 1-0, when the teams met during the regular season. The winner of Friday's contest takes on number one seed and 19th-ranked UCF. The Knights are hosting the first two rounds of this quarter of the bracket.
About The Mustangs
SMU (6-13-0, 2-7-0 The American) enters the postseason on a five-game losing skid, with its last win coming over the Owls on Oct. 9. Freshman midfielder Claire Oates has been the biggest weapon for the Mustangs this season, as she leads the team in both points (13) and goals (6). Oates' six goals are tied for ninth in The American.
Fellow freshman Lauren Guerra is second on the team in scoring with three goals. Senior forward Shelby Redman leads the team in assists with three, despite missing eight games due to injury. In net, senior Lauryn Bodden leads the team in saves with 42 and has tallied one shutout. Bodden's 5.25 saves per game average leads the conference.
Last weekend, the Mustangs fell to Tulsa and Memphis. The Mustangs were edged by the Golden Hurricane, 2-1, and dropped a 4-1 decision to Memphis.
SMU All-Time vs. Temple
Friday's contest marks the fourth meeting between the two schools, with the Mustangs winning all three previous matches. Earlier this season, SMU topped the Owls, 1-0, at Westcott Field behind a goal from senior Rikki Clarke. Senior Lauryn Bodden recorded her first shutout of the season in net.
The other two matchups came in 2013, with the Mustangs taking the regular season meeting in Ambler, Pennsylvania, 1-0, behind a goal from Kelsey Gorney. The teams also met in the opening round of the conference tournament. The Ponies won that contest, 3-0. Clarke and Taylor Barg tallied goals for SMU. In both contests, Bodden recorded the shutout.
About The Owls
Temple (11-7-1, 3-5-1 The American) began the season with a seven-game winning streak, but has gone just 4-7-1 since. In conference play, the Owls have notched wins over Cincinnati, Tulsa and Houston. In their regular season finale, the Owls dropped a 3-0 decision to UConn.
So far this season, the Owls have been led by junior forward Kelly Farrell, who leads the team in goals (8) and points (18). With those numbers, Farrell is tied for third in the conference in goals and tied for fourth in points. Junior midfielder Gina DiTaranto and redshirt-freshman forward Kayla Cunningham are tied for second on the team in scoring with four goals apiece. Junior goalkeeper Shauni Kerkhoff is second in The American with 76 saves and has recorded six shutouts on the year.
Temple is coached by Seamus O'Connor, who is in his second season at the Philadelphia school.
Game Notes
-Senior forward Shelby Redman scored her 20th career goal against Oral Roberts (Sept. 5), placing her 17th all-time on the SMU scoring list. The Austin, Texas, native is one goal away from tying Marci Miller for 16th all-time.
SMU All-Time Goals Leaders
15. Kenzie Scovill 22 2009-12
16. Marci Miller 21 1996-97
17. Shelby Redman 20 2010-
-Head Coach Chris Petrucelli has 364 career wins as a Division I women's soccer coach, making him one of the winningest coaches in NCAA history. Before coming to SMU, Petrucelli coached at Texas and Notre Dame, winning a national title with the Irish in 1995.
-Freshman midfielder Claire Oates recorded a hat trick in SMU's conference-opening 3-2 win at Houston (Sept. 25). Oates scored all three goals in the first 11 minutes of the game and remains the only player in the conference to record a hat trick this year.
-Sophomore defender Taylor Jackson leads the team in minutes played for the second consecutive year. She has totaled 1,666 minutes in 19 games this season.
-Freshmen have accumulated for ten of SMU's 17 goals this season. Claire Oates leads the way with six, while Lauren Guerra is second on the team with three goals. Vanessa Valadez has also tallied a goal.
-After missing the first half of the season due to injury, senior goalkeeper Lauryn Bodden posted a career-high 11 saves against USF (Oct. 5) in just her second start of the season. Making the performance even more special, Bodden's effort came in her Tampa homecoming, as she attended the city's HB Plant High School. Bodden also leads The American in saves per game with a 5.25 average.
-In the regular season matchup, the Mustangs pulled out the 1-0 victory, despite being outshot, 15-3.
Looking Ahead
With a win, the Mustangs would advance to the second round of the championships to play number one seed UCF in Orlando, Florida. The match would be played on Sunday with a start time of 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT. For more information on the conference tournament, visit theamerican.org.
