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The SMU women's soccer team continues its two-match road swing with a contest at Tulsa on Sunday afternoon at Hurricane Stadium. The clash marks the 33rd all-time meeting between the two sides. The match is slated for 1 p.m., and is the first half of an SMU at Tulsa doubleheader (SMU men's soccer at Tulsa, 4 p.m.). Live stats will be available on SMUMustangs.com.
 
Following Sunday's match, Chris Petrucelli's club returns home to host a three-match homestand. The Mustangs close out the non-conference slate Friday at 5 p.m., with a match against New Mexico State. SMU will then host the Florida schools, USF and UCF, the following weekend. All home games are free of charge, and or can be followed on SMUMustangs.com via PonyUp TV or live stats.
 
QUICK HITS:
> 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
> SMU notched its 400th program history with a 1-0 win against TCU
> Vanessa Valadez leads the Mustangs with five goals, three game-winners
> Hannah Allred scored her first two career goals at Memphis
> Allie Thornton leads the team with 31 shots
> Haley Thompson, Isabelle Nashmi lead 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
 
ABOUT SMU: On the heels of a thrilling come-from-behind 3-3 draw at Memphis, the Mustangs enter Sunday's match with a 4-2-3 record, 0-0-1 in league play. Hannah Allred scored a pair of goals, the first and second of her career, in the tie at Memphis. Vanessa Valadez leads the Mustangs with five goals, following a goal against Baylor. Claire Oates has 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 (D, 3-3 at Memphis): MEMPHIS, Tenn. (SMU) – A pair of goals in the final eight minutes of regulation led the SMU women's soccer team to a 3-3 draw at Memphi. Freshman Hannah Allred netted her second goal of the night in the 82nd minute, before Claire Oates found the eventual equalizing goal in the 88th minute of play to force overtime. Down 3-2 with two minutes left in regulation, goalkeeper Catie Brown served a curling free-kick into the box, where Oates got above the Memphis backline and netted a header to force overtime. The 6-foot senior now has three goals on the year, all off of headers, and 23 goals in her career. Brown was credited with an assist, the first of her career. Tied 2-2, Memphis managed to break the tie late with a header goal in the 84th minute. In the 82nd minute, Allred knotted the game at 2-2 with her second goal of the night. Following a weak Rachel Ashworth Shepard goal kick, the Mustangs were able to win the ball in the air and gain possession in the attacking third. A perfect header by the SMU backline found the feet of a crashing Allie Thornton, who touched a pass to Isabelle Nashmi up the near wing. From the top, near corner of the 18-yard box, the freshman was able to split a pair of Tiger defenders and find a waiting Allred, who buried the shot. Memphis opened scoring in the 6th minute, before Allred tied the game, 1-1, four minutes later (10') with her first career goal. Following a Haley Thompson corner kick, the ball bounced loose to the top of the 18-yard box, where Allred turned and fired a first-time shot over the head of Morgan Berg.

SCOUTING TULSA: The Golden Hurricane enter Sunday's match with a 2-7-2 record after a 3-1 loss against Houston. Tulsa has scored 11 goals in 11 matches, an average of 1.00 per match. Three players on the Tulsa squad have two goal apiece, including Rachel Thun-Blankenship, who also leads Tulsa in shots (21) and shots on goal (9).
 
ALL-TIME SERIES: Dating back to 1987, SMU and Tulsa are meeting for the 33rd time. The Mustangs hold a commanding series lead at 24-6-2. While in Tulsa, SMU is 9-3- all-time. SMU won the first five consecutive matches before falling in 1992. From 1993 to 2001, the Mustangs went 9-0-1 before a loss in 2002. SMU would rebound and go 7-0-0 from 2003 to 2007. Tulsa has the latest edge, winning three of the last five meetings, including three straight from 2012 to 2015. SMU beat the Golden Hurricane 4-1 in the most recent meeting, Oct. 23, 2016.

ALL-TIME RECORD

24-6-2 
HOME // 14-2-2     AWAY // 9-3-0     NEUTRAL // 1-0-0
GOALS FOR // 77     GOALS AGAINST // 30
SMU STREAK // W1
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LAST FIVE MATCHUPS
Oct. 28, 2011               SMU 2 at Tulsa 1                     W         Tulsa, Okla.
Oct. 26, 2012               SMU 1 at Tulsa 2                     L          Tulsa, Okla.
Oct. 26, 2014               SMU 1 vs. Tulsa 2                   L          Dallas, Texas
Oct. 1, 2015                 SMU 1 at Tulsa 2                     L          Tulsa, Okla.
Oct. 23, 2016               SMU 4 vs. Tulsa 1                   W         Dallas, Texas

LAST TIME AGAINST TULSA (W, 4-1 at SMU on Sept. 26, 2016) – Three different Mustangs scored, including Vanessa Valadez who scored twice, leading the SMU women's soccer team to a 4-1 victory over Tulsa, on senior day at Westcott Field. Valadez scored both her goals in the opening 15 minutes, scoring in the 2nd and 15th minute. In the 2nd minute, after beating a defender on the far side, the redshirt sophomore sent a curling shot from the top of the 18-yard box into the upper, near corner. Later, Valadez got above the Golden Hurricane defenders and netted a header off a Haley Thompson corner kick to give SMU a 3-0 lead. Valadez now has eight goals this season, and 17 in her career. Sophomore defender Thompson now has six assists. In between Valadez's goals, midfielder Claire Oates scored in the fifth minute, tapping in a loose ball from inside the six-yard box. Oates has seven goals this season, 17 in her career. In the 58th minute, Blair Thorpe gave SMU a 4-1 lead, scoring from 16-yards out. Thorpe, who now has five goals this season, collected a rebound off a Tulsa defender and fired a shot to give SMU its final score. The SMU offense posted 23 shots, with 10 on goal. Ten different Mustangs recorded shots with Thorpe, Valadez, and Allie Thornton leading the way with four apiece. Defensively, SMU allowed only six shots, four on goal, while blanking Tulsa in corner kicks. Tulsa's Rachel Thun scored the Golden Hurricane's lone goal in the 23rd minute.
 
UP NEXT: SMU returns home to host New Mexico State on Friday to close out the non-conference slate. The game is slated for 5 p.m. CT and can be followed via PonyUp TV or live stats on SMUMustangs.com.
 
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 387-160-49 (.701) record.
 
WINNER, WINNER!: Redshirt Junior Vanessa Valadez has netted three game-winning goals in 2017, ranking her 12th in the NCAA and 1st in the American Athletic Conference. The forward is one goal shy of matching the National leaders.
 
KEEP YOUR HEAD ABOUT YA: Senior midfielder Claire Oates has three header goals in 2017.
1 - 97' vs. No. 17 Arkansas (W, 1-0 OT)
2 - 79' at Gonzaga (D, 1-1)
3 - 88' at Memphis (D, 3-3)
 
THOR(NTON)'S HAMMER: Through nine games, sophomore Allie Thornton leads SMU with 31 shots and 12 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 3-1-0 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 .713 winning percentage (157-57-20) 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