SMU Set To Play Memphis In American Athletic Conference Tournament Semifinals Thursday

Thursday, November 8

Orlando, Fla.

SMU

Memphis (AAC Semifinals)

Nov 7 | Men's Soccer

SMU (9-4-2, 5-1-1 American)
Memphis (8-6-4, 2-4-1 American)

Stats: Live Stats
Video: American Digital Network
Notes: SMU (PDF) | American (PDF) | Championship Central
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DALLAS (SMU) - SMU (9-4-2, 5-1-1) enters the American Men's Soccer Championship as the No. 2 seed after claiming the a share of the regular-season conference title. The Mustangs will play No. 6 seed Memphis (7-6-4, 2-4-1) in the semifinal at UCF Track and Soccer Complex in Orlando on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. CT.

Memphis earned the program's first American Athletic Conference Championship victory on Tuesday, using two second-half goals to defeat No. 3 seed USF in the first round by a 3-1 score.

The match will be aired on The American Digital Network. Hali Oughton will also join the broadcast as the sideline reporter.

The SMU and Memphis match will be followed by the second semifinal of the day between No. 1 seed UCF and No. 4 seed Connecticut, which will start at 6:00 p.m. CT.

SMU is on a four-game win streak and clinched a share of the regular-season American Athletic Conference title with UCF after its 2-1 win over Temple in the regular-season finale on Nov. 2. The title is SMU's third under head coach Kevin Hudson, second-straight after taking the outright crown last season.

Seven Mustangs were selected to American Athletic Conference first, second and rookie all-conference teams for the 2018 regular-season, the AAC announced Tuesday.

SMU had two first team selections in Emil Cuello and Talen Maples. Grant Makela, Akean Shackleford and Garrett McLaughlin picked up second team honors, while Knut Ahlander and Lane Warrington earned all-rookie accolades.

SERIES VS. MEMPHIS
This will be the 17th meeting, 15th consecutive, between the two programs dating back to 1982. SMU is 13-3 against Memphis all-time, 8-0 at home, 4-3 away, and 1-0 neutral. The last time these two squads met earlier this season, SMU recorded its then fifth shutout of the season in its 3-0 win at Mike Rose Soccer Complex in Memphis. Emil Cuello scored twice and Akean Shackleford added his third goal of the season in the Mustangs' victory.

VETERAN NETMINDER
Junior keeper Grant Makela has made 14 starts in net for the Mustangs this season and is 9-3-2 so far. His goals against average is sitting at 0.762 ranking him 29th in the country. His six shutouts are tied for 29th in the nation and first in the American.

WITH THE ASSIST
Senior midfielder Emil Cuello is second in the American for Assists Per Game and Total Assists at a mark of .47 and six. His average is ranked for 33rd best in the country. The Orem, Utah native tallied a pair of helpers against Campbell and Memphis and assisted on goals against Houston Baptist and Gonzaga. SMU is ranked 39th in the country averaging 1.67 assists per game.

SHOTS PER GAME
SMU is averaging 16.47 shots per game, marking the squad second in the American behind UCF and ninth in the NCAA rankings. Emil Cuello and Akean Shackleford lead the team with five goals a piece, and Garrett McLaughlin and Philip Ponder have tallied three each on the season.

AT THE CORNER
The Mustangs have earned, on average, 6.00 corner kicks per game this season. The teams average is 20th most in the NCAA and first in the American Athletic Conference.

CONFERENCE AWARDS
Seven Mustangs have been selected to American Athletic Conference first, second and rookie all-conference teams for the 2018 regular-season, the AAC announced Tuesday.

SMU had two first team selections in Emil Cuello and Talen Maples. Grant Makela, Akean Shackleford and Garrett McLaughlin picked up second team honors, while Knut Ahlander and Lane Warrington earned all-rookie accolades.

Sophomore Talen Maples was named Defensive Player of the Week and freshman Lane Warrington was named Rookie of the Week by the American Athletic Conference after the team's 1-0 victory over Tulsa (9/22/18) to open conference play. Maples, the team's captain, played all 90 minutes in the victory and was part of a defensive effort that submitted the Mustangs' fourth shutout on the year. The Leander, Texas product also logged a shot on goal in the team's win to open conference play for the first time since 2015.

Warrington, in the fourth start of his collegiate career, found the back of the net in the 3' of the contest when he launched a strike near the left corner of the goal box. The Lawton, Oklahoma native is the second Mustang to notch the first goal of his collegiate career this season.

Junior Grant Makela was named Goalkeeper of the Week by the American Athletic Conference after the team's 3-0 victory over Memphis (10/12/18). Makela played all 90 minutes and picked up his fifth shutout of this season. The junior turned aside all four shots he faced. With five shutouts in his 11 games in net this season, Makela and SMU lead the conference in the category.

Freshman Thomas Haney was named Rookie of the Week by the American Athletic Conference after the team's 2-0 victory over UConn (10/28/18). Haney's first career goal came at the most crucial of times for SMU, as he put the Mustangs on the board first against UConn on Saturday. The freshman converted a header off the assist from Knut Ahlander in the 49th minute for what would be the game winner.

Junior Philip Ponder was named American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive week (11.5.18). Ponder scored both goals and led the Mustangs to a 2-1 victory in the regular-season finale Friday night against Temple to help SMU clinch a share of the American Athletic Conference title. Both of Ponder's scores came in the second half, with his game-winner finding the net in the 81st minute. The Denton, Texas native was named Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 29 after netting the insurance goal for SMU in the 63rd minute against UConn. The goal marked the first of the season for Ponder, who anchored the SMU backline to the shutout.

IT'S AN HONOR
Sophomore defender Talen Maples was named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll (9/4/18) for his game winning goal that came in the 60th minute of the Incarnate Word match. Maples notched goals in back-to-back contests, his first coming in the 18th minute against Campbell in a 4-0 victory. He is the second Mustang to be named to the Honor Roll this season.

Junior defender Eddie Munjoma was named to the American Athlete Conferences' Honor Roll (8/27/18) after he racked up two goals against Campbell and an assist against Providence. Munjoma's goals were the first of his career.

Senior midfielder Emil Cuello was named to the American Athlete Conferences' Honor Roll (10/15/18) after he racked up two goals against Memphis, scoring his fourth and fifth goals of the season as SMU downed the Tigers, 3-0.

Junior forward Akean Shackleford was named to the American Athlete Conferences' Honor Roll (10/22/18) after he racked up two goals against Cincinnati, scoring his fourth and fifth goals of the season as SMU defeated the Bearcats, 3-1.

Junior goalkeeper Grant Makela was named to the American Athlete Conferences' Honor Roll (10/29/18) after he turned aside four shots against UConn to pick up his sixth shutout between the pipes on the season

MCLAUGHLIN NAMED TO MAC HERMANN TROPHY WATCH LIST
American Athletic Conference Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Garrett McLaughlin was the lone conference player to make the 2018 Preseason MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List as announced by United Soccer Coaches. McLaughlin was one of just 31 Division I men's players tabbed to the list on August 9. 2018 marks the third-straight season SMU has seen a player named to the Preseason Watch List, as Mauro Cichero was recognized the past two seasons.

RETURNING OFFENSE
The Ponies will look to Garrett McLaughlin and Emil Cuello, both Preseason All-American Athletic Conference selections, along with three other multiple goal scorers from last season, Nicky Hernandez, Christian Boorom and DJ Williams Jr., to lead the offensive charge in the year's campaign. McLaughlin, an Oklahoma City, Okla. native, led the team in points last year with 31 total, netting 14 goals and assisting on three, and Cuello, an Orem, Utah product, found the back of the net twice and notched five helpers, the second most on the team. McLaughlin was also named the 2018 AAC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year.

CONSISTENT SUCCESS
SMU made its 31st NCAA Tournament appearance last season after winning both the regular season and AAC Tournament. In the NCAA Tournament, the Ponies beat Central Arkansas and Georgetown before falling to North Carolina, the No. 3 seed, in the Sweet 16. It was the 21st time that the Mustangs have reached the Sweet 16.

FRESH FACES
The Mustangs welcome 13 newcomers to the team, all freshmen, along with first-year Associate Head Coach Bed Stoddard and Director of Operations and Video Services Elmer Selaya. Stoddard comes to the Hilltop from Oregon State where he spent the last 4 seasons and Selaya was a coach at CoachUp in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

600 CLUB
SMU men's soccer became the 25th program in NCAA history to reach 600 programs wins with its 3-1 win over American Athletic Conference opponent Cincinnati on Oct. 20 at Westcott Field in Dallas.

CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
Since the first American Athletic Conference Championship in 2013, six matches have reached penalty kicks. Four of those six have been title matches. The first championship to be determined without PKs was last season's title match between UCF and SMU, which the Mustangs won by a 2-1 score in overtime.

AMERICAN CHAMPIONS
2013 - USF
2014 - Tulsa
2015 - Tulsa
2016 - Tulsa
2017 – SMU

2018 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Host: No. 1 seed - UCF

First Round • Tuesday, Nov. 6
American Digital Network
GM 1: No. 3 USF vs. No. 6 Memphis    3:30 p.m. CT - WINNER: MEMPHIS
GM 2: No. 4 UConn vs. No. 5 Temple 6 p.m. CT - WINNER - UCONN

Semifinals • Thursday, Nov. 8
American Digital Network
GM 3: No. 6 Memphis vs. No. 2 SMU 3:30 p.m. CT
GM 4: No. 4 UConn vs. No. 1 UCF   6 p.m. CT

Championship • Saturday, Nov. 10
ESPN3
Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4    6 p.m. CT