BOX SCORE | SEASON STATS

TULSA, Okla. (SMU) -- The undefeated No. 8/4 Mustangs won their conference opener on Saturday night when they defeated the Golden Hurricane 5-1 at Hurricane Soccer and Track Stadium in Tulsa. 

SMU once again got off to a fast start, when Gabriel Costa wove through the Golden Hurricane backline and beat the keeper, burying his second goal of the season to put the Mustangs up 1-0 early. Assisting Costa was midfielder Knut Ahlander who tallied his sixth assist of the season on the attack, the most among all Mustangs. 

One minute later, the Mustangs struck again, this time with Costa assisting Garrett McLaughlin en route to McLaughlin's seventh goal of the season. The Oklahoma City native is now tied for second in the American Athletic Conference in goals scored, and moved one goal shy of the No. 5 spot on the NCAA career active goals list. It was the team's 15th goal in the first half this season.

The Mustangs received another insurance goal 24 seconds into the second half when Costa found the back of the net for the second time of the night, putting SMU up 3-0. After tallying three points in the previous seven matches, Costa had more than doubled that number in just 46 minutes tonight. SMU would extended its lead even further in the 55th minute when Eddie Munjoma passed up a shot to feed the ball to Knut Ahlander in the box. Ahlander then moved around his defender and beat the keeper, giving the Mustangs a dominating 4-0 lead in the conference opener.

In the 60th minute, the Golden Hurricane won the ball in their attacking third and dribbled into the box before putting it past Shane Lanson for TU's first goal of the night. The goal was just the second Lanson had allowed all season, but the Mustangs still held a comfortable three-goal lead. 

SMU would answer in the 65th minute when a free kick was award to the team after a Tulsa handball just outside the box. Munjoma lined up to take the set piece and like he has done two other times this season, bent it around the wall and sent it into the back of the net, giving the Mustangs a 5-1 lead that would remain until the final whistle. 

"It was an excellent performance tonight," head coach Kevin Hudson said after the match. "A very comprehensive victory. We created a lot of quality chances and were able to capitalize on them. It's another step in the process and we look forward to getting back to work tomorrow."

With the win the Mustangs improved to 8-0-0 on the year, the team's best start since a 9-0-0 start in 2010. Dating back to last season, the Mustangs have now won 14 of their last 15 matches, with the lone defeat coming at the hands of No. 24 Oregon State in the NCAA tournament. Head coach Kevin Hudson improved to 3-2-0 in conference openers while at the helm of the program.

The perfect 8-0-0 start is the best start for an American Athletic Conference team in the league's history. The team's five goals were the most they'd scored in a conference game since a 7-0 victory over ECU when both teams played in the Conference USA in 2005. 

SMU is back in action on Tuesday, October 1 when it returns home to Westcott Field for a match with Central Arkansas slated for a 7 p.m. kick.