Quick Facts
--With the DePaul victory, SMU captured their third consecutive season opening game.
--The Mustangs were picked to finish fifth in the American Athletic Conference with junior
Allie Thornton being named preseason All-Conference by the league's coaches.
--A DePaul goal in the 87th minute brought an end to a streak of over six hours of gametime since SMU had last been scored on at Westcott Field
--22 of the 26 SMU goals scored in 2017 were credited to returnees. Additionally, the Mustangs bring back 83% of total minutes played from last season's team.
--The trip to California marks the program's first regular season game in California since 2012 against San Diego State. The team played a preseason game against Loyola Marymount in 2017.
--Two goals in the first 16:50 was SMU's fastest two scores since 2016 against Tulsa when the Mustangs found the back of the net twice in the first 4:22.
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Allie Thornton knocked home both SMU goals in the game's first 17 minutes against DePaul. It was the junior striker's fourth multi-goal and first since her freshman campaign in 2016.
SCOUTING LONG BEACH -- The 49ers opened the season on the road against No. 2 UCLA. The two squads were even for all but the game's final seconds when the Bruins found the game's first goal with 0:02 remaining in regulation. UCLA out-shot LBSU 13-4 in the contest. Beach keeper Imani McDonald made saves and allowed just the one late goal. Long Beach returns nine of 11 starters from their 2017 squad and was picked to finish in second by the league's coaches. The 49ers went 9-6-3 last season and had a final RPI of 73
UP NEXT: The Mustangs continue on the road with a pair of intrastate trips next week. The team travels to Houston for a Thursday meeting with Rice before capping the week with a rivalry showdown against TCU.
MUSTANGS FROM THE CHARITY SPOT: With the penalty conversion in the 17th minutes, SMU has now hit their last seven awarded penalty kicks dating back to the 2014 season.
TORRES WASTING NO TIME:
Celiana Torres began her career with a bang as seven minutes into her SMU career she assisted on a goal. Torres logged 78 minutes in the opener and was one of three freshman to start on opening day for the Mustangs.
RETURNING NOTABLES – SMU returns nine of 11 starters from a squad last season that advanced to the semifinals of the American Conference Tournament and finished 4-4-1 in conference play. Notably, 22 of the 26 goals scored in 2017 were scored by returnees and the Mustangs also bring back 83% of total minutes played from last season's team.
Junior forward
Allie Thornton leads all returnees with 11 points in the 2017 campaign. The striker also netted four goals and chipped in with three assists. The Ponies return keeper
Catie Brown, who started in goal for every game of last season recording 67 saves and eight shutout victories. Other notable returners include Vanesa Valadez, who began her career with the Mustangs in 2014 and has recorded 23 goals in her time on the Hilltop.
Blair Thorpe has played more games than any returner with 61 caps in her career and fellow senior Hailey Thompson has a team-high 17 career assists.
The Mustang defense ended last season on a high note only conceding one goal in the final 542:26 of the season.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Sunday marks the first meeting between the two programs.
SEASON OPENER: With the 2-1 win over DePaul, SMU won their third consecutive opening match. Last season the Mustangs beat No. 17 Arkansas with a golden goal from Clair Oates. The season prior, SMU came out on the right end of a 6-0 result against Northwestern State The won their last two season openers including a 1-0 victory over No.
COACHING CORNER: Two-time National Coach of the Year and 1995 NCAA Championship Coach
Chris Petrucelli is entering his seventh season at the helm of the SMU Women's Soccer program. 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. Beginning his 29th season as a head coach, Petrucelli has compiled a 394-165-49 (.688) record. In his seventh season at SMU, Petrucelli has a 54-55-13 (.492) record.
Petrucelli is one of nine active coaches to win a National Championship and is one of just five active coaches to lead his team to the National Title game on three occasions.
PUT IT ON THE BOARD: During the 2017 season, SMU women's soccer team was 9-2-0 when scoring first. After holding on to the lead against DePaul the Mustangs have won 19 of 21 in which they score first over the last three seasons.
AMERICAN CONFERENCE ROUNDUP: The American Athletic Conference got out to a hot start in regular season play by sweeping the first day of competition. All four teams in action on Thursday August 16 came away with wins. Through eight games the conference has posted a 4-3-1 record.
YOUNG AND DANGEROUS: In 2017, SMU freshmen accounted for eight of SMU's 25 goals (32 percent), all with at least two strikes.
Hannah Allred led the freshmen and finished second on the team with four goals. Both
Isabelle Nashmi and
Katia Novi burried a pair of goals.
THOR(NTON)'S HAMMER: In 2017, junior
Allie Thornton led SMU with 61 shots (2nd AAC) and 22 shots on goal. The striker had four goals on the year, recording three during the regular season, one against Temple, Tulsa and Sam Houston State. The sophomore netted her fourth against Cincinnati in the American Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinals. 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.
MILESTONE 400!: Redshirt senior
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 406-210-48 (.648). The Mustangs have been coached by six different coaches over that span.
2018 AAC PRESEASON HONORS: The American Athletic Conference annoucned their preseason rankings and preseason all-conference teams on Monday August 13th. The Coaches selected SMU to finish fifth in the conference, just one point back of fourth place Cincinnati. Junior
Allie Thornton was an all-conference selection at striker. Thornton led the Ponies in scoring last season with 11 points scoring four goals and tallying three assists.
WESTCOTT FIELD: With the win against No. 21 Cincinnati on Oct. 22 of last season, SMU clinched a winning season at Westcott Field for the third consecutive season. Since opening in 1994, SMU holds a .712 winning percentage (162-59-20) at Westcott Field. In 23 seasons at Westcott, the Mustangs have finished .500 or better in 22 seasons, with three perfect seasons. After taking down DePaul, the Mustangs have won five in a row at Westcott Field
FREE SOCCER!: Adding to its menu of free, family-friendly events, SMU Athletics continues to offer free admission to all Mustang soccer matches for the second consecutive season. 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.
