SMU
Houston
Mustangs Head South To Face Houston
Oct 25 | Women's Soccer
Game slated for 7 p.m. Thursday
| SMU (11-5-1, 5-2-1 The American) at Houston (6-6-3, 1-5-2 The American) | |
| Date / Kickoff Time | Thur., Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. |
| Location | Houston, Texas // Carl Lewis Soccer Complex |
| Tickets | Tickets |
| Live Stream | Live Stream ($) |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| Game Info | Game Notes (.pdf) |
| SMU WSOC | SMU Mustangs | |
| @SMUSoccerW | @SMUMustangs | |
The SMU women's soccer team is headed to Houston this week, as it takes on the Cougars for the last regular season match. Kickoff is scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m., at the Carl Lewis Soccer Complex. A live stream, live stats and ticket links can all be found on SMUMustangs.com.
ABOUT SMU: SMU improved to 11-5-1 overall, and 5-2-1 in the American Athletic Conference, after a 4-1 victory over Tulsa Sunday. The Mustangs remain in third place in the AAC Conference standings (16 points), as No. 21 Connecticut (19 points) and [RV] Memphis (18 points) each earned wins. The Mustangs are ranked No. 8 in the Northeast Region. Entering the match in Houston, SMU is top 11 in six NCAA statistical categories, while leading The American in the same six.
| Statistical Ranks as of Oct. 25: | Actual | NCAA/Conference Rank | |
| Scoring Offense (Avg/G) | 2.35 | 11/1 | |
| Total Goals | 40.0 | 9/1 | |
| Total Points | 126.0 | 6/1 | |
| Points per game | 7.41 | 7/1 | |
| Total Assists | 40.0 | 9/1 | |
| Assists per game | 2.35 | 11/1 | |
SMU QUICK HITS:
· Freshman Allie Thornton has 10 goals this season, and is the first player to record at least 10 goals in a season since Olivia O'Rear scored 13 in 2006
· Claire Oates has seven goals this season, five of which for game-winners…she ranks 12th in the NCAA, and is second in the AAC to only Stephanie Ribeiro (9)
· Jessica Cooley leads the team with eight assists. She ranks 16th in the NCAA, 3rd in the AAC
· The last time SMU won 12 or more game was in 2006 (17-5-1, 8-1-0 C-USA)…SMU has won at least 11 games for the first time since 2011 (11-8-1, 7-3-1 C-USA)
HOUSTON QUICK HITS:
· Houston is eighth in the American Athletic Conference standings with five points (1-5-2 AAC)
· Houston is eight in the AAC in goals (20), eighth in points (57) and last in the ACC in shots (119).
· The Cougars rank third in saves (91), and sixth in goals allowed (20
· The Cougars have five different goal scorers, including Desiree Bowen who leads the team with seven goals. She leads the team with 14 points.
ALL-TIME SERIES: This is the 17th meeting all-time between the Mustangs and the Cougars, with the first meeting dating back to 1999. The two teams have squared off every year since 1999, except in 2002. SMU holds a 13-1-2 all-time advantage over the Cougars, including an 8-0-1 record in Dallas. SMU holds a 5-1-1 record in Houston, with the Mustangs' lone loss coming in 2010. The last time the two teams met was a season ago, where the SMU claimed a 1-0 win in Dallas.
| Houston 13-1-2 | ||||
| H: 8-0-1, A: 5-1-1, N: 0-0 | ||||
| SMU is 4-0-1 in the last five meetings | ||||
| 2011 | O2 | H | W | 1-0 |
| 2012 | S21 | A | T-2OT | 2-2 |
| 2013 | O18 | H | W | 2-1 |
| 2014 | S25 | A | W | 3-2 |
| 2015 | O9 | H | W | 1-0 |
UP NEXT: The Mustangs will wait until Sunday to receive a bid to the American Athletic Conference tournament. The top six teams will earn spots, with the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds receiving opening round byes. The tournament location is TBD.
LAST TIME OUT: Three different Mustangs scored, including Vanessa Valadez who scored twice, leading the SMU women's soccer team to a 4-1 victory over Tulsa, on senior day Sunday afternoon at Westcott Field. SMU honored its five seniors, Taylor Jackson, Bari Kesner, Paige Jacobs, Kelsey Gorney and Taylor Barg following the game. The Mustangs improved to 11-5-1 overall, 5-2-1 in the American Athletic Conference, while the Golden Hurricane fell to 8-8-1, 4-3-0 in The American. SMU remains in third place in the AAC Conference standings (16 points), as No. 21 Connecticut (19 points) and [RV] Memphis (18 points) each earned wins. The SMU offense posted 23 shots, with 10 on goal. Ten different Mustangs recorded shots with Thorpe, Valadez, and Allie Thornton leading the way with four apiece. Defensively, SMU allowed only six shots, four on goal, while blanking Tulsa in corner kicks.
HEAD COACH CHRIS PETRUCELLI: Two-time National Coach of the Year and 1995 NCAA Championship Coach Chris Petrucelli enters his fifth season (2016) as SMU Head Women's Soccer Coach. A veteran of 20-plus years as a head coach, Petrucelli was named the NSCAA National Coach of the Year in both 1994 and 1995 and was lauded as the NSCAA Central Region Coach of the Year in both 2002 and 2006. In 26 years as a head coach, Petrucelli has compiled a 381-156-45 (.693) record. His record at SMU is 41-46-9 (.474).
SHARING THE WEALTH: SMU has tallied 40 assists through 17 games, eclipsing last year's total of 21. Freshman Jessica Cooley leads the team with eight, while Vanessa Valadez has tallied seven. Cooley ranks 16th in assists and 28th in assists per game (0.47) among all NCAA DI players, and is third in both categories in the American Athletic Conference. Valadez ranks 41st in assists (7) and 56th in assists per game (0.41) in the NCAA. She is No. 4 and No. 6 in the AAC, respectively. Sophomore Haley Thompson has six assists (81st NCAA, 7th AAC), averaging .35 per game (113 NCAA, 9th AAC).
BEWARE OF THOR(NTON)'S HAMMER: Freshman forward Allie Thornton leads the team with 10 goals and 23 points. Thornton is the first player since Olivia O'Rear (13) in 2006 to score at least ten goals in a single-season. The newcomer is second on the team in shots on goal (20) and total shots (40) to only Vanessa Valadez (25 and 40). Thornton enters the weekend ranked top-50 in four categories nationally, and top 10 in four categories in the AAC.
| Actual | NCAA Rank/Conference Rank | |
| Total Goals | 10 | 45/7 |
| Goals per game | 0.59 | 56/7 |
| Total Points | 23 | 69/7 |
| Points per game | 1.35 | 76/7 |
Against Abilene Christian, she scored her first career hat trick on five total shots, and three on goal. The last hat trick by any player or freshman was Claire Oates on Sept. 25, 2014 at Houston.
WINNER, WINNER!: Junior midfielder Claire Oates has scored seven goals this season, five of which for game-winners. The five game-winning goals ranks her at 12th in the NCAA, and second in The American behind only Stephanie Ribeiro (9).
NSCAA ACADEMIC AWARD: The SMU women's soccer programs received the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Academic Award, the organization announced. SMU was one of 579 women collegiate programs to receive honors. The Mustangs, who posted a 3.27 team grade-point average for the 2015-16 academic year, has earned the honor for the fifth consecutive season.
WESTCOTT FIELD: SMU has clinched a winning season at Westcott Field for the second consecutive season. Since opening in 1994, SMU holds a .717 winning percentage (154-55-19) at Westcott Field. In 22 seasons at Westcott, the Mustangs have finished .500 or better in 21 seasons, with three perfect seasons.
--SMUMustangs.com--
