SMU
Cincinnati
SMU Hosts Cincinnati Sunday At 1 p.m. On Senior Day
Oct 20 | Women's Soccer
SMU Will Honor Its Three Seniors Following The Match
SMU (7-6-3, 2-4-1 AAC (7 pts.) vs. No. 21 Cincinnati (11-2-3, 4-1-2 AAC (14 pts.))
SMU Match Notes | Cincinnati Notes | American Notes
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With just two matches remaining in the 2017 American Athletic Conference regular season, the SMU women's soccer team returns to the pitch Sunday afternoon with the 21st-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats at Westcott Field. The match is slated for 1 p.m.. Following the match, SMU will honor its three seniors Lauren Guerra, Lauren Harrington and Claire Oates.
With an American Athletic Conference Tournament berth on the line, SMU remains in the hunt after consecutive shutouts against Temple and East Carolina. SMU heads into Sunday's match tied for sixth place in The American standings with seven points. The Mustangs have a one point edge over Houston, who plays East Carolina Sunday.
Following Sunday's fixture, Chris Petrucelli's club will host Houston in the regular-season finale. The match will kick off at 7 p.m. CT.
American Athletic Conference Standings (as of Oct. 20)
Top Six Team Advance To The AAC Tournament; Regular Season Champion Hosts
| School | Conf. Points | Conf. Record | Overall | Percentage | Streak | Remaining Schedule |
| UCFÂ * | 19 | 6-0-1 | 11-1-1 | 0.885 | W7 | Bye, USF |
| USFÂ * | 18 | 6-1 | 10-3 | 0.769 | W5 | UConn, at UCF |
| Cincinnati * | 14 | 4-1-2 | 11-2-3 | 0.781 | L1 | SMU, East Carolina |
| Memphis * | 14 | 4-2-2 | 10-5-2 | 0.647 | T1 | Bye, at Tulsa |
| UConn | 12 | 4-3 | 6-7-3 | 0.469 | L1 | at USF, Temple |
| SMU | 7 | 2-4-1 | 7-6-3 | 0.531 | W2 | Cincinnati, Houston |
| Temple | 7 | 2-4-1 | 6-8-2 | 0.438 | L2 | at UCF, at UConn |
| Houston | 6 | 2-5 | 6-8-1 | 0.433 | W1 | East Carolina, at SMU |
| Tulsa | 4 | 1-6-1 | 3-12-3 | 0.250 | L2 | Bye, Memphis |
| ECU | 3 | 1-6 | 6-8-2 | 0.438 | L1 | at Houston, at Cincinnati |
| * Clinched AAC Tournament Berth | ||||||
QUICK HITS:
> Vanessa Valadez leads the Mustangs with five goals, three game-winners
> Isabelle Nashmi recorded her second career goal, first game-winner, against ECU
> Katia Novi scored her first career goal at Temple
> Hannah Allred scored her first two career goals at Memphis
> Allie Thornton leads the team with 56 shots and 22 shots on goal
> Haley Thompson leads the team with seven assists; Is T2 in the AAC in assists.
> SMU recorded 43 shots against NMSU, the most since Northwestern a year ago
> SMU notched its 400th program history with a 1-0 win against TCU
> Catie Brown named AAC Goalkeeper of the Week (Aug. 28)
> Win vs No. 17 Arkansas marks the second consecutive year beating a top-25 opponent (Sept. 29, 2016, 1-0 at No. 15 USF; Sept. 18, 2017, 1-0 vs. No. 17 Arkansas)
> First time beating a top-25 team on opening day in program history
> First home win vs. a top-25 team since Sept. 23, 2011 (1-0 vs. No. 19 UCF)
> 2016 final marks: 13-7-2, 6-2-1 AAC
> 2016 American Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-up; NCAA First Round
> 2016 was SMU's first NCAA tournament since 2006
ABOUT SMU: On the heels of a 1-0 win against East Carolina Thursday, the Mustangs hold a 7-6-3 record and a 2-4-1 mark in The American. Against ECU, Isabelle Nashmi netted her second career goal in the 63' to provide the game-winner. Haley Thompson recorded her seventh assist of the year. Vanessa Valadez leads the Mustangs with five goals, while Claire Oates and Allie Thornton have each tallied three goals on the 2017 campaign. Under the direction of sixth-year head coach Chris Petrucelli, SMU returns 17 student-athletes, including nine starters from its 2016 squad. SMU finished 2016 with a 13-7-2 record (6-2-1 AAC), en route to an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2006. The Mustangs finished third in the regular season, before finishing runner-up in the AAC Conference Tournament.
LAST TIME OUT (W, 1-0 at SMU): DALLAS (SMU) – With her second collegiate goal, freshman Isabelle Nashmi propelled the SMU women's soccer team to a 1-0 victory against East Carolina Thursday night at Westcott Field. In the 63rd minute, SMU was awarded a free kick a yard outside of the penalty box. Junior Haley Thompson played the ball into the penalty box, where a crashing Nashmi got above the East Carolina defense and flicked a header into the lower corner of the net. Thompson now has seven assists on the season, which is tied for second in The American. SMU outshot the Pirates, 16-9, registering seven shots in the first half, before tacking on nine in the final 45 minutes of play. Allie Thornton posted three shots, all on goal, to lead the Mustangs. Nashmi and Hannah Allred each tallied two attempts. In the fifth clean sheet of the season, the Mustang defense allowed just two shots on goal, both of which were wrangled in by veteran goalkeeper Catie Brown.
SCOUTING CINCINNATI: The Bearcats enter Sunday's match ranked No. 21 in the United Soccer Coaches' poll with an 11-2-3 record and a 4-1-2 league mark. UC had a seven-match undefeated streak snapped at Houston following a 2-1 loss Thursday. Cincinnati has clinched a berth in the AAC tournament and is tied for third in The American with Memphis at 14 points. The Bearcats have scored 24 goals, averaging 1.50 per match. Defense has been the key for Cincinnati in 2017, allowing just nine goals. Sophie Gorman leads the UC attack with a team-high five goals.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Cincinnati holds a slim 3-2-2 edge in the all-time series. SMU holds the advantage in Dallas with a 2-0-1 record after a 2-2 draw was recorded in the last meeting at SMU (9/24/15). All three of UC's wins have been by identical 1-0 scores with both draws carrying 2-2 score lines.
LAST TIME AGAINST THE BEARCATS: (L, 2-0 at Cincinnati) – CINCINNATI (SMU) – Vanessa Valadez and Blair Thorpe led the Mustangs' offense with two shots each, but the effort fell short as the [RV] SMU women's soccer team lost 2-0 at Cincinnati. Julie Gavorski scored both of Cincinnati's goals, the first in the 18th minute and the second in the 80th. The forward converted a penalty kick to open scoring, before scoring off a free kick from 25-yards out late in the game. SMU managed five shots, with two on goal. Valadez had one shot on goal, while freshman Katina Tsapos recorded the other.
UP NEXT: The Mustangs will host Houston in the regular-season finale. The match will kick off at 7 p.m. CT.
COACHING CORNER: Two-time National Coach of the Year and 1995 NCAA Championship Coach Chris Petrucelli is in his sixth season (2017) 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 his 28th season as a head coach, Petrucelli has compiled a 390-164-49 (.687) record.
KEEP YOUR HEAD ABOUT YA: SMU has six header goals this season, three by senior midfielder Claire Oates, two by defender Katharine Herron and one by Isabelle Nashmi.
THOR(NTON)'S HAMMER: Through 16 games in 2017, sophomore Allie Thornton leads SMU with 56 shots and 22 shots on goal. The striker has three goals on the year, recording one against Temple, Tulsa and Sam Houston State. Against New Mexico State, Thornton registered a season-high nine shots. Against No. 16 Oklahoma, she registered eight shots, equaling Oklahoma's team shots total, with three on frame. In 2016, she finished the season tied with a team-high 10 goals and was second on the team with 23 points. Thornton was the first player since Olivia O'Rear (13) in 2006 to score at least 10 goals in a single-season, and the first since Kimber Bailey (2004, 11) to score 10 or more goals in her freshman year. The 10 goals ranks tied for eight on the SMU All-time goals by a freshman list.
PUT IT ON THE BOARD: The SMU women's soccer team is 6-2-0 when scoring first. In 2016, the Mustangs were 9-0-0 when scoring first.
MILESTONE 400!: Redshirt junior Vanessa Valadez netted the eventual game-winner in the 27th minute against TCU to propel SMU to a 1-0 win for the 400th program victory. Since the beginning of the program in 1986, the program record is 403-210-48 (.646). The Mustangs have been coached by six different coaches over that span.
2017 AAC HONORS:
Catie Brown – Goalkeeper of the Week (Aug. 28)
Isabelle Nashmi – Weekly Honor Roll (Aug. 28)
Vanessa Valadez – Weekly Honor Roll (Sept. 5)
2017 AAC PRESEASON HONORS: The Mustangs were picked to finish second in the American Athletic Conference, receiving three of 10 first place votes by the league's coaches. SMU returns nine of 11 starters from 2016, including three members of the preseason all-conference team: Claire Oates, Vanessa Valadez and Allie Thornton. The trio finished top three in scoring in 2016, with Oates and Thornton leading the way with 10 goals apiece, while Valadez netted nine. Thornton and Valadez were named to the 2016 AAC all-conference first team, while Oates garnered second team honors. Thornton was also named to The American all-rookie team.
2016 AAC HONORS: SMU head coach Chris Petrucelli was name the American Athletic Conference Co-Coach of the Year, and five student-athletes were named to AAC All-Conference teams. Following the AAC Championship, four members were named to the AAC All-Tournament Team
First Team: Allie Thornton & Vanessa Valadez
Second Team: Taylor Barg & Claire Oates
Rookie Team: Allie Thornton & Jessica Cooley
All-Tournament: Catie Brown, Claire Oates, Allie Thornton, Vanessa Valadez
WESTCOTT FIELD: SMU clinched a winning season at Westcott Field in 2016 for the second consecutive season. Since opening in 1994, SMU holds a .710 winning percentage (159-59-20) at Westcott Field. In 23 seasons at Westcott, the Mustangs have finished .500 or better in 21 seasons, with three perfect seasons.
FREE SOCCER!: Adding to its menu of free, family-friendly events, SMU Athletics will now offer free admission to all Mustang soccer matches beginning this fall. The soccer programs are among 11 SMU sports that offer free admission. Others include volleyball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's swimming and diving, men's and women's golf, rowing and equestrian.
NCAA RECOGNITION AWARD: SMU women's soccer was one of two SMU athletic programs to earn Public Recognition Awards for their latest multi-year NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rates (APR). This is the second time the women's soccer team has achieved the honor (2013-14, 2015-16). The APR is an annual scorecard of academic achievement calculated for all Division I sports teams and provides a real-time look at a team's academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete on scholarship. The APR accounts for eligibility, retention and graduation, and provides a measure of each team's academic performance.
SMU SOCCER PROGRAMS EARN 2016-17 TEAM ACADEMIC AWARDS: Both SMU soccer programs earned the United Soccer Coaches' (formerly the NSCAA) Team Academic Award on Thursday. The teams were recognized for their exemplary performance in the classroom during the 2016-17 academic year. SMU was one of 202 collegiate programs to have both their men and women's teams earn the award. The SMU women's team, which posted a 3.50 team grade-point average for the 2016-17 academic year, has earned the honor for the sixth consecutive season. The SMU men's soccer team earned the academic award for its second consecutive season following a 3.40 GPA. A total of 824 soccer teams (286 men, 538 women) earned the honor. To qualify for the award, the team must have a minimum grade-point average of 3.0 or higher for the entire academic year. The team GPA is determined by adding every player's GPA, then dividing by the number of players.
