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No. 8 Men's Soccer Launches into 2018 Season Friday

Aug 23


SMU (0-0-0, 0-0-0 American) vs. Providence (0-0-0, 0-0-0 Big East)
Westcott Field – Dallas, Texas
Friday, Aug. 24 – 7:30p.m.
 
Campbell (0-0-0, 0-0-0 SoCON)
Westcott Field – Dallas, Texas
Sunday, Aug. 26 – 7 p.m.
 
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SMU Notes | Providence Notes | Campbell Notes | American Notes 
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SMU Men's Soccer opens up the 2018 season as it hosts the SMU Tournament at Westcott Field. Each game is free to the public and the matches involving SMU will be streamed on Pony Up TV.
 
The SMU Tournament
The Mustangs will face Providence, August 24 for a 7:30 p.m. kick in the first game and play Campbell, August 26 at 7 p.m. for the second match. The tournament also features UIC against Campbell at 5 p.m. on Friday and Providence playing UIC on Sunday at 10 a.m.
 
A Brief History
This is the second all-time meeting with the Friars and Camels having lost at Providence 1-0 in 2016 and ending in a draw with Campbell 1-1 in double overtime at home in 2012. The 2018 SMU Tournament marks the 28th tournament that the Mustangs have hosted on the Hilltop. The first tournament, hosted in 1987, saw the Ponies topple No. 1 ranked Virginia and No. 4 ranked San Francisco. SMU is 44-12-4 all-time in its own event. The tournament has happened, in one shape or form, from '87-91, '93-00, '02-14 and picked back up in 2017.
 
Rank 'em Up
After making it to the Round of 16 in the 2017 NCAA Tournament, SMU starts off the season ranked No.8 in the country, matching the highest ranking achieved during the 2017 campaign.
 
Who to Look For
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 along with being added to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List.
 
Refresher
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.
 
Some New 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.
 
Captain of the Ship
Kevin Hudson was named the fourth head coach in the program's history on Jan. 9, 2015. Hudson spent seven seasons as an assistant coach and was promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2014 season after returning to the Hilltop in 2007. During Hudson's ten years on the Hilltop, the Mustangs have reached the NCAA Tournament on six occasions, advancing as far as the Elite Eight in 2010. In 2010 and 2012, SMU earned the Conference USA regular season title, and in 2011 the squad won the tournament championship. In his first year as head coach, Hudson's team claimed the 2015 American Athletic Conference regular season title and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. Hudson and his coaching staff were named the 2015 AAC Coaching Staff of the Year. The Mustangs have amassed a 120-66-24 (.629) record during Hudson's tenure including a 38-15-6 (.695) record as head coach. In 2017, Hudson led the Mustangs to win both the American Athletic Conference regular season title and the conference tournament title, the first sweep in conference history. His staff was named 2017 Coaching Staff of the Year by the AAC. SMU made it to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the second time in Hudson's young head coaching career.
 
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