BOX SCORE | SEASON STATS | Petrucelli's Postgame Comments

DALLAS (SMU) – No. 22 SMU dropped a tough match to [RV] UCF, 2-1, in the Mustangs' conference opener on Thursday night at Westcott Field.

Despite the Mustangs (7-2-1, 0-1-0) outshooting the Knights (7-2-2, 2-1-0) eight to seven and maintaining over 50 percent of possession during the first half of the match, UCF headed into halftime with a 1-0 lead after Kristen Scott scored for the Knights in the 14^th minute.

SMU started the second half of the match with more intensity and scored the equalizer in the 53^rd minute. Junior Jewel Boland headed the ball across the goal line on a corner kick from sophomore Celiana Torres to score her third goal of the season and tie the game up at one. With the assist, Torres increased to six on the season and 12 for her career, holding her sixth place spot in the SMU record book for career assists per game with .444.

After just over 30 seconds on the clock had passed, the Mustangs were called for a penalty in the box. Zandy Soree converted the kick, slipping the ball just past freshman Tatum Sutherland on the right hand side of the goal for the Knights to regain the lead at 2-1.

SMU held most of the possession throughout the rest of the 90 minutes, but wasn't able to find the back of the net. In the goal, Sutherland tallied six saves throughout the match to bring her season and career total to 29.

Boland, senior Allie Thornton and sophomore Courtney Sebazco led the Mustang offense with two shots on goal apiece. Boland and Thornton both totaled three shots each while Sebazco had four. Torres added one shot of her own to total 11 for SMU throughout the night.

The Mustangs continue conference play at home on Sunday, Oct. 6 at 1 p.m. CT against [RV] USF. Following the game will be a postgame youth clinic for those in grades K-6^th. Email athletics@smu.edu to sign up.