Top Seeded No. 8 Mustangs Open American Tournament Against Cincinnati
Nov 5 | Men's Soccer
| #1 [8] SMU (12-2-3, 7-0-1 AAC) vs. #8 Cincinnati (7-8-3, 1-4-3 AAC) | |
| Date & Start Time | Saturday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. CT |
| Location | Westcott Field |
| Game Notes | Game Notes |
| Live Stats | Gametracker |
| Live Video | Watch Live |
| /SMUMustangs | /SMUSoccerM | |
| @SMUMustangs | @SMUSoccerM | |
The Week Ahead…
The Mustangs open the 2015 American Athletic Conference Tournament as the No. 1 seed and host Cincinnati, who earned the No. 8 seed, on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT at Westcott Field. This is the second meeting of the teams this season, as the Mustangs defeated the Bearcats, 1-0, in double overtime on Oct. 17.
On the National Stage…
Sophomore Mauro Cichero is ranked 14th in the nation in points-per-game with 1.59, and 10th in total points with 27. Sophomore Jared Rice is ranked 11th in the nation with eight assists. As a team, the Mustangs are currently tied for 3rd in the nation with 38 assists, tied for 5th in assists per game and 15th in total points with 102.
Scouting the Bearcats…
Cincinnati enters Saturday's match with an overall record of 7-8-3, and were 1-4-3 in American Athletic Conference play to earn the No. 8 seed in the tournament. In their final regular season contest, Cincinnati fell to UCF, 1-0. Alejandro Garcia leads the Bearcats in goals with 10, while Adam Wilson leads the team in assists with eight. Goalkeeper Pedro Diaz has tallied 56 saves and is sporting a 1.51 goals-against-average.
Series History…
The Mustangs are 6-1 all-time against Cincinnati, including a pair of wins in their last two meetings.
American Favorites…
Junior Stanton Garcia was named the American Athletic Conference men's soccer Offensive Player of the Week following his performance in a 2-0 victory over Temple last week.
Goalkeeper Michael Nelson was named the league's Goalkeeper of the Week after recording five saves in a 2-0 shutout against Temple. The shutout was his fourth in league play and seventh overall this season.
The awards are the Mustangs' 9th and 10th player of the week selections this season with Idi Camara earning Offensive Player of the Week Oct. 26, Mauro Cichero earning Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 19, Oct. 5 and Sept. 7, Emil Cuello earning Rookie of the Week on Oct. 5 and Sept. 21 and Jared Rice earning Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 28.
Conference History…
The Mustangs are 14-8-6 all-time in conference tournament games, including an 8-6-2 record in the first round/quarterfinal match-ups. SMU and Cincinnati have never played each other in conference tournament action.
League Leaders…
SMU leads the conference in shots (249), points (102), goals (32), assists (38) and assists per game (2.24). Sophomore Jared Rice is tied for first in assists with eight. Mauro Cichero is ranked No. 2 in shots (61), shots per game (3.59), points (27) and goals (10).
Looking Back…
SMU scored a pair of second half goals to earn a 2-0 Senior Night victory over Temple on Oct. 31 at Westcott Field. The Mustangs clinched the AAC regular-season championship to earn the No. 1 seed of the conference tournament.
The Mustangs' goals came from Stanton Garcia and Brenden Lee in the second half of the match. After a Mauro Cichero shot deflected off Temple's goalkeeper, a waiting Garcia was there to punch it in from four yards out. The goal was Garcia's fifth of the season and the assist was Cichero's seventh.
Lee scored the insurance goal after he got his head on a deflected shot attempted by Garcia. The goal was Lee's fourth of the season and the assist was Garcia's first.
The Ponies finished the regular season 9-1-1 on the Hilltop, which included a 4-0 conference mark. Seniors Idi Camara, Jacob Speed, John Lujano and Danny McQuaid were honored prior to their last regular season match at home.
Change In Leadership…
Former SMU standout Kevin Hudson is in his first season as the Ponies' head coach after being named the fourth head coach in the program's history on Jan. 9, 2015. Hudson spent seven seasons as an assistant coach and was promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2014 season after returning to the Hilltop in 2007.
