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On Sunday night, [rv] SMU hosts the Baylor Bears in the final match of a four-game homestand. After earning a 1-0 home win against rival TCU Thursday on a first-half goal from Vanessa Valadez, the Mustangs takes on Baylor at Westcott Field for the first time since 2013. The match will be the second installment of an SMU soccer doubleheader, with kickoff scheduled for approximately 8:30 p.m. All SMU soccer matched are free of charge and can be seen via PonyUp TV.
 
Following Sunday's tilt, Chris Petrucelli's club opens conference play with a pair of road contests. The Mustangs open league play at Memphis Thursday at 7 p.m. CT, before heading to Tulsa on Sunday, Sept. 24.
 
QUICK HITS:
> SMU is receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches' poll
> SMU is ranked 11th in the Southeast Region Poll
> SMU notched its 400th program history with a 1-0 win against TCU
> Vanessa Valadez leads the Mustangs with four goals, three game-winners
> Allie Thornton leads the team with 26 shots, 10 shots on goal
> Haley Thompson leads the team with four assists
> Catie Brown named AAC Goalkeeper of the Week (Aug. 28)
> Isabelle Nashmi recorded her first career goal and first career assist at Washington
> 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 win against TCU, the [rv] Mustangs enter Sunday's match with a 4-1-2 record. Vanessa Valadez extended her team-lead goal count to four goals, following the eventual game-winner against the Horned Frogs. Claire Oates has tallied two goals on the 2017 campaign, 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 (W, 1-0 at SMU): DALLAS (SMU) – The [rv] SMU women's soccer team notched its 400th program win Thursday night with a 1-0 victory against metroplex rival TCU. With the win, the Mustangs improved to 4-1-2, while the Horned Frogs fell to 5-3-0. Since the inaugural season in 1986, the Mustangs have recorded a 400-205-45 (.650) record. Vanessa Valadez netted the eventual game-winner in the 27th minute, heading in a corner kick from Haley Thompson. Valadez, a redshirt junior, extends her team-leading goal count to four. It is her 22nd career goal and seventh career game-winner. Thompson, a junior, picks up her fourth assist of the year, the 13th of her career. Catie Brown and the SMU defense recorded the third shutout of the year, allowing 11 shots and five shots on goal. Brown recorded four saves, before right-back Jessica Cooley made a sliding team save in the final seconds of regulation to secure the victory. Hannah Allred and Blair Thorpe lead the Mustangs with two shots apiece, while Valadez and Allie Thornton each tallied one.
 
SCOUTING BAYLOR: The Bears enter Sunday's match with a 5-1-1 record after its undefeated season came to an end with a 1-0 loss against Washington. Baylor has scored 10 goals in the first seven matches of the season, an average of 1.43 per match. Jackie Crowther leads the Bears in goals with three, and a team-high seven shots on goal.
  LAST TIME AGAINST BAYLOR (L, 2-0 at SMU on Sept. 1, 2013) – SMU played tough with No. 11 Baylor, but missed Mustang opportunities and strong defense by Baylor gave the Bears a 2-0 win. Baylor took the lead at the 17:28 mark on a goal from Ashley York, with Bri Campos earning the assist. The two sides would trade chances for the rest of the half, including a pair of good chances in the last few minutes with shots from Taylor Barg and Courtney Smith. Barg had a great opportunity in the box off a free kick, but had her shot blocked by an alert Bears defender before it could reach the goal. Eight minutes into the second half, SMU's Kelsey Gorney snuck past a pair of Bears defenders before getting pulled down from behind at the entrance of the penalty box. Anjadai Seals received a yellow card and Shelby Redman took the penalty kick for the Mustangs. Redman, who was two-for-two on penalties in her career heading into the attempt, aimed for the top right with a solid strike that was saved well by Baylor's Michelle Kloss. SMU continued to have chances at goal, including two headers off corner kicks that were narrowly missed by Taylor Jackson. After the second, Baylor countered and wound up with a successful header of their own, with Campos scoring off a cross from Karlee Summey. Sunday's contest was a physical one, with 24 total fouls handed out (Baylor - 18, SMU - 6) and three yellow cards. Shannon Moroney played all 90 minutes for SMU, tallying five saves.
 
UP NEXT: SMU opens conference play with a pair of road contests. The Mustangs open league play at Memphis Thursday at 7 p.m. CT, before heading to Tulsa on Sunday, Sept. 24. Game can be followed via live stats on SMUMustangs.com.
 
GETTING SEEN: Following a 1-0 loss to Indiana, the SMU women's soccer team is recieving 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 387-159-48 (.700) 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 seven games, sophomore Allie Thornton leads SMU with 26 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 3-0-0 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 400-205-47 (.650). 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 .718 winning percentage (157-56-20) 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.
 
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