Box Score | Overall Stats

The No. 8 SMU Mustangs fell 2-1 in double overtime to open the 2018 season at home against the Providence Friars Friday night in front of a packed house.
 
The two teams, meeting for the second time in program history, were locked in a physical contest from the opening kick. The first 45 minutes of the season saw no goals, but the offense picked up for both teams in the second half of the game.
 
Providence struck first with a 25-yarder that stuck in the top right corner to take the lead in the 52^nd minute. Akean Shackleford, a transfer from Indian Hill Junior College, would provide the Mustangs' answer in the 80^th minute when Emil Cuello and Eddie Munjoma would assist on a clever ball that Shackleford chipped over the goalkeepers' head. The first Mustang goal of the season would ultimately force overtime, but the Friars' would strike again, this time in the 104^th minute to take the game 2-1.
 
SMU outshot Providence 24-8, including 19-3 in the second half, and SMU also held the advantage in corner kicks 12-4. Mustang goalkeeper Patrick Michael Hillyard, making his second career start, also added a pair of saves on the night. Eighteen SMU players saw action in tonight's contest, 10 of them being underclassmen.
 
The Ponies will be back in action on Sunday evening to wrap up the SMU Tournament against Campbell at 7 p.m. CT. Admission is free and the game can also be stream on Pony Up TV.