SMU
Houston
Win And You're In: SMU Battles Houston Thursday For AAC Tournament Berth
Oct 24 | Women's Soccer
Mustangs Need Win or Tie To Advance; Game Slated For 7 p.m.
SMU (8-6-3, 3-4-1 AAC (10 pts.)) vs. Houston (7-8-1, 3-5-0 AAC (9 pts.))
SMU Notes | Houston Notes | American Notes
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With an opportunity to complete a turnaround and earn a spot in the American Athletic Conference tournament, the SMU women's soccer team hosts the Houston Cougars at Westcott Field on Thursday in a winner-take-all showdown.
With a win or draw Thursday night, SMU will clinch the final tournament berth, while Houston must win to advance. The Mustangs, who are on a three-match win streak, hold 10 conference points. The Cougars, who own their own two-match win streak, have nine points in league play.
| SCHOOL | CPTS | CONF | OVERALL | PCT. | STREAK |
| UCF* | 22 | 7-0-1 | 12-1-1 | 0.893 | W8 |
| USF* | 21 | 7-1 | 11-3 | 0.786 | W6 |
| Cincinnati* | 14 | 4-2-2 | 11-3-3 | 0.735 | L2 |
| Memphis* | 14 | 4-2-2 | 10-5-2 | 0.647 | T1 |
| UConn* | 12 | 4-4 | 6-8-3 | 0.441 | L2 |
| SMU | 10 | 3-4-1 | 8-6-3 | 0.559 | W3 |
| Houston | 9 | 3-5 | 7-8-1 | 0.469 | W2 |
| Temple | 7 | 2-5-1 | 6-9-2 | 0.412 | L3 |
| Tulsa | 4 | 1-6-1 | 3-12-3 | 0.250 | L2 |
| ECU | 3 | 1-7 | 6-9-2 | 0.412 | L2Â |
| * Clinched Tournament Berth |
Barring a loss in Thursday's match, Chris Petrucelli's club will compete in the American Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinal on Wednesday, Nov. 1. Depending on other results around The American, the Mustangs will be either the No. 5 or No. 6 seed in the tournament.
QUICK HITS:
> SMU is on a three-match winning streak; All shutouts
> SMU is on a 272:26-minute shutout streak
> SMU beat No. 21 Cincinnati; Move to 2-1-1 against ranked team this season
> Vanessa Valadez leads the Mustangs with five goals, three game-winners
> Allie Thornton leads the team with 56 shots (2nd AAC) and 22 shots on goal
> Haley Thompson leads the team with seven assists; Is T2 in the AAC in assists.
> Katia Novi scored her second career goal, first game-winner, against No. 21 Cincinnati
> Isabelle Nashmi recorded her second career goal, first game-winner, against ECU
> Hannah Allred scored her first two career goals at Memphis
> 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
> SMU has beaten a top-25 opponent in consecutive seasons (Sept. 29, 2016, 1-0 at No. 15 USF; Sept. 18, 2017, 1-0 vs. No. 17 Arkansas)
> 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: Currently amidst a three-match unbeaten streak, the Mustangs hold an 8-6-3 record and a 3-4-1 mark in The American. Chris Petrucelli's side has been defensively stout of late, currently riding a 270-minute shutout streak dating back to Oct. 15. On the heels of a 1-0 upset of No. 21 Cincinnati, SMU will host Houston in a winner-take-all match for the final spot in The American tournament. Against the Bearcats, Katia Novi scored her second goal of the season in the 81' to lead the Mustangs. It was her second goal in three matches. Vanessa Valadez leads the Mustangs with five goals, while Claire Oates and Allie Thornton each have three on the 2017 campaign. Junior Haley Thompson has seven assists on the season. 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) – The SMU women's soccer team upset No. 21 Cincinnati, 1-0, on senior day Sunday afternoon at Westcott Field. The win was SMU's third straight shutout, and sixth clean sheet of the season. With less than 10 minutes left in regulation, freshman Katia Novi broke the tie and netted the eventual game-winner in the 81st minute to secure the win. After receiving a ball from Jessica Cooley, Allie Thornton managed to get around the Cincinnati back line and loft a cross into the penalty box. After knocking off the cross bar and the near post, the ball fell right to Novi's feet, who punched it in from a yard off the goal-line. The goal was the second of her career and second in the last three matches. Novi played a career-high 28 minutes in the win. Thornton was credited with an assist, the third of the season. Veteran goalkeeper Catie Brown, along with the backline, stopped all four shots on goal to preserve the sixth clean sheet of the year. SMU outshot the Bearcats, 11-8, and recorded a 5-4 edge on shots on goal. Blair Thorpe led the Mustang attack with four shots, one of which was on frame. Mary Meehan registered two shots, also with one on frame.
SCOUTING HOUSTON: The Cougars enter Thursday's match with a 7-8-1 record and a 3-5-0 league mark. Houston is on a two-match win streak following triumphs against No. 21 Cincinnati and East Carolina. Houston is seventh in The American with nine points. The Cougars have scored 29 goals, averaging 1.81 per match. Selena Peters leads the Houston attack with a team-high seven goals.
ALL-TIME SERIES: This is the 18th meeting between the two sides, with SMU leading at 14-1-2 all-time. The Mustangs are 6-0-1 in the last seven meetings and have recorded four consecutive wins versus Houston. SMU is undefeated in Dallas at 8-0-1. The series began in 1999 and has been an annual affair since except for in 2002.
LAST TIME AGAINST THE COUGARS: (W, 3-1 at Houston) HOUSTON (SMU) – The SMU women's soccer team scored three goals in the opening 25 minutes, en route to a 3-1 victory in its final regular-season match at Houston. Vanessa Valadez opened scoring in the 19th minute, beating Houston's goalkeeper on a one-on-one attack. From just past midfield, Blair Thorpe split a pair of defenders with a through ball, where a crashing Valadez collected and tapped in for the goal. The goal is Valadez's ninth of the season and 18th of her career. Thorpe was credited with an assist, her fifth of the season and ninth of her career. In the 24th minute, Hannah Fleet scored her fourth goal of the season, netting a pass from Valadez. From the far side of the 18-yard box, Valadez dribbled the ball to the top of the six-yard box, before laying it off to Fleet who scored from six-yards out to give SMU a 2-0 lead. A minute later (25th), Claire Oates headed in a Haley Thompson corner kick to give SMU a 3-0 lead. Oates has eight goals this season, and 18 in her career. Thompson has seven assists this season, eight in her career. SMU took 10 shots with eight on frame. Five different Mustangs took shots, all with two apiece. Valadez, Fleet and Avery Ortmann all logged two shots on goal. The SMU defense allowed only three shots, with two on frame.
UP NEXT: Barring a loss in Thursday's match, SMU will compete in the American Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinal on Wednesday, Nov. 1. Location and time are to be determined.
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 391-164-49 (.688) 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 17 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 7-2-0 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), Weekly Honor Roll (Oct. 23)
Isabelle Nashmi – Weekly Honor Roll (Aug. 28)
Vanessa Valadez – Weekly Honor Roll (Sept. 5)
Katia Novi – Weekly Honor Roll (Oct. 23)
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: With the win against No. 21 Cincinnati, SMU clinched a winning season at Westcott Field for the third consecutive season. Since opening in 1994, SMU holds a .711 winning percentage (160-59-20) at Westcott Field. In 23 seasons at Westcott, the Mustangs have finished .500 or better in 22 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.
