The SMU men's soccer team hosts Temple Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Mustangs for a Cure annual match. All funds raised at Mustangs for a Cure games go directly to the Baylor Foundation Celebrating Women fund. The money goes to increasing awareness and funding breast cancer treatment, research, and diagnosis. Fans can find tickets by calling 214-SMU-GAME (214-768-4263) or visiting SMUMustangs.com/tickets. All home matches will air on PonyUp TV. Live stats are also available on SMUMustangs.com.
Series History…
Saturday night's matchup marks the fourth meeting between SMU and Temple, starting in 2013. The Mustangs lead the series, 2-0-1, with a 1-0-1 record when facing off in Dallas.
The Last Time They Met…
The Mustangs beat the Owls, 2-0, last season in Dallas.
SMU's goals came from
Stanton Garcia and
Brenden Lee in the second half of the match. After a
Mauro Cichero shot deflected off of Temple's goalkeeper, a waiting Garcia punched it in from four yards out.
In the 73rd minute, Lee scored by heading a deflected shot attempt by Garcia. Goalkeeper
Michael Nelson tallied five saves on 13 total shots.
About SMU…
The Mustangs enter the match 4-7-0 overall (0-2-0 American), with a 4-4-0 record at home.
Mauro Cichero and
Brenden Lee lead the Mustangs with three goals apiece. Cichero also leads the Mustangs in shots (23), shots on goal (9) and points (7).
Garrett McLaughlin and
Brenden Lee are in second place with six points apiece.
Bryce Clark and
Eddie Munjoma are tied, leading the Mustangs in assists with three each.
Michael Nelson has tallied 37 saves with a 72.5 save percentage, while
Nick Ruiz has recorded 10 saves with a 71.4 save percentage. The Mustangs have netted 14 goals on 122 attempts, and average 11.1 shots per game.
The Last Time Out…
The Mustangs fell to UCF, 1-0, last Saturday night in Orlando, Florida after a two and a half hour weather delay.
The Mustangs outshot the Knights 5-4 in the first half, despite a scoreless first period.
Emil Cuello led all Mustangs with four shots and one on goal.
UCF scored in the 63rd minute of the match. The Knights posted 11 total shots, to SMU's eight.
Michael Nelson recorded one save in 90 minutes of play.
American Standings…
The Mustangs rank fifth in the American Athletic Conference in points with 42, averaging 3.82 per game. SMU is third in saves (47), tied for third in The American in assists (14), fifth in shots (122), and sixth in goals (14).
Individually,
Mauro Cichero is tied for fifth in shots with 23, and 10th in The American with seven total points.
Emil Cuello is tied at 10th with 21 total shots. Cichero and
Brenden Lee are tied for sixth in goals with three apiece.
Eddie Munjoma and
Bryce Clark are tied for fifth in assists with three, while
Garrett McLaughlin is tied for 10th with two.
Michael Nelson is fourth in the The American in saves (37) and saves per game (3.70), and sixth in save percentage with 72.5 percent.
Nick Ruiz is 10th in saves with 10.
About the Owls…
Temple holds a 6-3-1 (0-1-1 American) overall record, and a 1-3-0 record on the road. The Owls' offensive attack is led by senior midfielder Jorge Gomez-Sanchez and junior forward/midfielder Joonas Jokinen. The senior midfielder has recorded 23 points for Temple, with 10 goals and three assists. Jokinen has earned 12 points, netting three goals, with six assists.
The Owls' defense has allowed only seven goals this season, allowing 0.70 goals per game. Junior goalkeeper Alex Cagle has tallied 28 saves in 10 games for Temple, and boasts a 0.69 goals against average.
As a team, Temple has converted 17 of its 167 shots (10.2 percent), averaging 1.70 goals per game.
