BOX SCORE

EVANSTON, Ill. (SMU) – Senior Allie Thornton converted a penalty kick in the 19^th minute as SMU opened the season with a 1-0 win at Northwestern on Thursday.

"It was a really good result against a very competitive team," head coach Chris Petrucelli said. "The game was hard, but we played very well defensively and did just enough to get a goal and win the game."

Senior Allie Thornton scored SMU's (1-0-0) only goal when a penalty kick was awarded to the Mustangs after junior Hannah Allred drew a foul in the box. The finish gave SMU an early lead over Northwestern (0-1-0) that they were able to hold throughout the game.

Freshman Tatum Sutherland had a strong showing in the goal, with three saves in the game, earning the shutout in her college debut. Two of them came on back-to-back shot attempts from the Wildcats when Northwestern earned a chance to put a goal on the board in the 40^th minute with a penalty kick of their own.

"Tatum was fantastic," Petrucelli said. "She saved the penalty and the rebound from the penalty … just very composed."

The second half of the game saw two shots from SMU and four from Northwestern, but neither team could put one away. Northwestern outshot the Mustangs, 9-4, throughout the match. The Mustangs are receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, and opened against a Northwestern program that made the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
Thursday's win extends SMU's season-opening victory streak to four.

The Mustangs will stay in Illinois for the remainder of the week to take on DePaul in Chicago on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.