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After a 1-0 loss to Indiana last Friday, [rv] SMU returns to Westcott Field for a match against metroplex rival TCU on Thursday evening. The 33rd all-time contest between the two sides is slated for 7 p.m. All SMU soccer matches are free of charge and can be seen via PonyUp TV.
 
Following Thursday's fixture, Chris Petrucelli's club then rounds off a four-match homestand with a clash with Baylor on Sunday night. The match will be the second installment of an SMU soccer doubleheader, with kickoff scheduled for approximately 8:30 p.m.
 
QUICK HITS:
> SMU is receiving votes on the United Soccer Coaches' poll
> SMU is ranked 11th in the Southeast Region Poll
> SMU has 399 wins in program history. Since 1986, 399-204-47 (.650)
> Vanessa Valadez leads the Mustangs with three goals
> Allie Thornton leads the team with 22 shots, 9 shots on goal
> Isabelle Nashmi recorded her first career goal and first career assist at Washington
> 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)
> The Mustangs were picked to finish second in the American Athletic Conference
> Thornton, Oates (10 g each) and Valadez (9 g) were named Preseason All-AAC
> 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
> SMU finished the 2016 season in the top 25 in six NCAA statistical categories
 
ABOUT SMU: Following a 1-0 loss to Indiana, the [rv] Mustangs enter Thursday's match with a 3-1-2 record. Vanessa Valadez leads the team with three goals this season, following two against the Bearkats. Claire Oates has tallied two goals, while three players have one apiece. SMU is receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches' Poll for the fourth straight week, having spent two of the four weeks ranked. 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 (L, 1-0 at SMU): DALLAS (SMU) – The 23rd-ranked SMU women's soccer team suffered its first loss of the season falling 1-0 to Indiana. In the 80th minute, Maya Piper scored the lone goal of the match off a Meghan Scott corner kick. Scott sent a curling serve into the six-yard box, where Mykayla Brown managed to chest the ball on. At the back post, Piper managed to wrangle the loose ball and finish inches off the goal line. SMU threatened early, outshooting the Hoosiers, 8-3, in the first half with two shots on goal. In the 21st minute, Allie Thornton fired a free kick from 27 yards out, but Bethany Kopel was able to get in front of it for the save. With the game knotted 0-0 at halftime, Vanessa Valadez (63rd minute) managed to get behind the Hoosier backline and fire a shot, but the play was blown dead and ruled offside. In the 70th minute, the Mustang offense found a wide-open Lauren Harrington, who roped an uncontested shot from 16 yards out, but right into the arms of Kopel. Six different Mustangs recorded shots, as SMU outshot the Hoosiers, 12-9. Valadez led the attack with five shots, while Thornton tallied three shots. Each recorded a shot on goal.
 
SCOUTING TCU: The Horned Frogs enter Thursday's match with a 5-2-0 record after its three match winning streak come to an end with a 2-1 loss against Northeastern. TCU has scored 17 goals in the first seven matches of the season, an average of 2.43 per match, a mark that is tied for 22nd nationally. The 17 total goals scored is good for 22nd nationally. Allison Ganter, who scored the game-winner in last year's match, leads the Horned Frogs with five goals. She has scored TCU's last four goals.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES: Dating back to SMU's inaugural season in 1986, SMU and TCU are meeting for the 33rd time, with the Mustangs leading 27-3-2. While in Dallas, SMU holds a 13-1-0 all-time record. The two teams met every year until 2001, then played 2002-2007 before a four year break. The current series resumed in 2012. TCU claimed its first win at home in 2014, and stretched its win streak to three follow wins in 2015 (Dallas) and 2016 (Fort Worth).
 
ALL-TIME RECORD
27-3-2
 
HOME // 13-1-0     AWAY // 14-1-2     NEUTRAL // 0-0-0
GOALS FOR // 97     GOALS AGAINST // 24
 
SMU STREAK // L3
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LAST FIVE MATCHUPS
Sept. 7, 2012               SMU 2 at TCU 1                      W         Fort Worth, Texas
Sept. 12, 2013             SMU 2 vs. TCU 0                     W         Dallas, Texas
Sept. 19, 2014             SMU 1 at TCU 4                      L          Fort Worth, Texas
Sept. 18, 2015             SMU 0 vs. TCU 2                     L          Dallas, Texas
Sept. 25, 2016             SMU 0 at [rv] TCU 1 (2 OT)     L          Fort Worth, Texas
 
LAST TIME AGAINST TCU (L, 1-0 at TCU on Sept. 25, 2016) – Redshirt sophomore Vanessa Valadez led the Mustangs with five shots and three on goal, but the effort fell short as the SMU women's soccer team fell 1-0 in double overtime at [RV] TCU. In a virtually level match between two even teams, TCU's Allison Ganter found the game-winner in the 109th minute to claim the victory. Each team logged six shots on goal, while TCU managed just two more shots (19-17) overall. Including Valadez, nine Mustangs recorded shots, with four putting shots on frame. Goalkeeper Catie Brown went the distance, recording five saves.
 
UP NEXT: SMU closes out its four-match homestand Sunday against Baylor at 8:30 p.m. Admission is free to all SMU soccer matches. All home games can be seen on PonyUp TV.
 
GETTING SEEN: Following a 1-0 loss to Indiana, the SMU women's soccer team is receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches' poll. Prior to the loss, SMU was ranked for two straight weeks in the United Soccer Coaches' Poll. Prior to the 2017 campaign, the last time the Mustangs were ranked in the national polls was Oct. 17, 2006, when the Ponies were selected No. 22 in the ADIDAS/NSCAA poll.
 
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 386-159-48 (.698) record.
 
WINNER, WINNER!: Senior midfielder Claire Oates netted a game-winning header in the 97th minute to propel the SMU women's soccer team to a 1-0 overtime win against No. 17 Arkansas Friday at Westcott Field. The 6-foot senior from Long Beach, Calif., scored 10 goals in 2016, six for game-winners. The six game-winning goals from a season ago ranked her at ninth in the NCAA.
 
KEEP YOUR HEAD ABOUT YA: Senior midfielder Claire Oates has two header goals in 2017.
1 - 97' vs. No. 17 Arkansas (W, 1-0 OT)
2 - 79' at Gonzaga (D, 1-1)
 
THOR(NTON)'S HAMMER: Through six games, sophomore Allie Thornton leads SMU with 25 shots and 10 shots on goal. Against Sam Houston State, the forward scored his first goal of 2017. 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.
 
SHARING THE WEALTH: SMU tallied 45 assist in 2016, eclipsing the 2015 total of 21. Jessica Cooley, Haley Thompson and Vanessa Valadez each tallied a team-high eight assists. SMU finished 17th nationally in assists and 24th in assists per game (2.05).
 
PUT IT ON THE BOARD: The SMU women's soccer team is 2-0-0 when scoring first. In 2016, the Mustangs were 9-0-0 when scoring first.
 
 
LOOKING AT 400: The 4-1 victory against Sam Houston State was the 399th victory in SMU program history. Since the beginning of the program in 1986, the program record is 399-204-47 (.650). The Mustangs have been coached by six different coaches over that span.
 
BIG WINS: SMU scored six goals against Abilene Christian in 2016 marking the 60th time in program history that the Mustangs have scored five or more goals in a game. When SMU scores at least five goals, the Mustangs hold an undefeated 60-0-0 record, and have posted a clean sheet 36 times.
 
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 .715 winning percentage (156-56-20) 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. SMU will host a combined 22 matches at Westcott Field, 12 women's games and 10 men's games. The women's team will open the 2017 campaign at Westcott Field against Arkansas on Friday, Aug. 18, before hosting Oklahoma on Aug. 20. The men's team will play three straight home contests to open the season, starting with UC Davis on Friday, Aug. 25.
 
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 ATHLETICS, SOCCER PROGRAMS TO SEE FACE LIFT: SMU recently announced plans to construct a new Indoor Performance Center, an outdoor natural grass football practice field and a new soccer stadium, another sign of the University's commitment to competing at the highest level of intercollegiate athletics. These plans come on the heels of amazing success during SMU's Second Century Campaign, when SMU Athletics secured more than $191 million in gift commitments, and after 18 months of careful planning and design. The new soccer stadium, to be used by SMU's men's and women's soccer teams, will be located on Mockingbird Lane, the site of the current practice fields.