[RV] SMU (2-0-0) vs. Saint Louis (0-1-0)
Westcott Field – Dallas, Texas
Sept. 6, 2019 – 8 p.m. CT
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DALLAS (SMU) -- The SMU men's soccer team will try and improve to 3-0-0 on the season when it hosts 10-time national champion Saint Louis on Friday at 8 p.m. The men's contest is the second of an SMU doubleheader, as the SMU women's soccer team will host Northern Colorado at 5:30 p.m. 

OPENING WEEKEND SUCCESS
The Mustangs were impressive in two performances in the team's opening weekend - beating Lipscomb 3-0 in the opener and then HBU 7-1 a few nights later. The start marks the third time since 2010 that the Mustangs begun the season 2-0-0. A win on Friday would mark the sixth time since 2000 that the team has started with three straight victories.

3-0-0 STARTS SINCE 2000
2001 (Final Record 21-1-0)
2006 (Final Record 17-2-4)
2008 (Final Record 10-6-2)
2010 (Final Record 16-2-2)
2017 (Final Record 17-3-1)

MCLAUGHLIN MAGIC
Senior forward Garrett McLaughlin shredded the Houston Baptist defense in Match 2. The OKC native recorded his first hat trick in his SMU career. • In 2018, McLaughlin scored three goals on the season, after scoring 14 as a sophomore. His 24 career goals are the most among active mustangs.

POTENT OFFENSE
The Mustangs' seven goal burst against HBU was good nationally for the second most goals in a game this season. • The key to the Mustangs' offensive success is the number of SOG they take. SMU is averaging 10.5 SOG per contest, seventh-best in the country.

2019 HONORS
Nicky Hernandez -- AAC Weekly Honor Roll (Sept. 2)

KEVIN HUDSON MILESTONE

Coach Hudson earned his 50th win against HBU on Sept. 2, in a 7-1 win. He joins the three prior SMU coaches in the 50+ win club.

ALL-TIME WINNINGEST SMU COACHES
1. SCHELLAS HYNDMAN (368-96-40, .770%)
2. JIMMY BENEDEK (119-31-15, .767%)
3. TIM MCCLEMENTS (68-46-16, .585%)
4. KEVIN HUDSON (50-20-9, .690%)

2019 PRESEASON HONORS
The American Athletic Conference announced its preseason honors on August 21. Junior defender Talen Maples was tabbed as first team All-AAC, marking the fifth-consecutive season the Mustangs have had a player recognized preseason. In the same release, SMU was voted to finish second in the conference by the conference's coaches.

RETURNING MUSTANGS
The Mustangs are one of the most experience-laden teams in the country, returning 17 student-athletes that played in 2018, 14 of which appeared in 10+ games. Junior goalkeeper Grant Makela returns after starting in 17 games last season, and he'll be the last line of defense for a backline that allowed an AAC-low 19 goals last season. Offensively, 2018 preseason MAC Hermann Trophy candidate Garrett McLaughlin, will look to lead the charge. The Oklahoma City native led the team in goals as a freshman and sophomore, and will look to return to all-conference form as a senior.

MEET THE FRESHMEN
In addition to being one of the most experienced teams in the nation, the Mustangs welcomed five freshmen to the Hilltop over the past year. Mitchell Murphy comes to the Hilltop from Quincy, Ill. where the forward was a two-time Illinois All-Sectional honoree and 2018 High School All-American. He owns the Quincy HS record for career points and assists. Henry Smith-Hastie is a midfielder from Los Angeles, Calif. He was named league MVP twice and a TopDrawerSoccer All-American en route to a CIFFS Championship.  Matt McLaws joins SMU from Deer Creek HS in Oklahoma City, where he led the Antlers to four straight Oklahoma state championships.  Stephen Canty manned the net for Tivy High School in Texas for four years. He wrapped up his high school career with a GAA of 1.134 and over 5,500 minutes in goal. His performance led him to be a named a three-time 5A All-State member. Anthony Perea rounds out the freshmen class as the Frisco, Texas, native comes to the Hilltop from just down the road. He played club soccer for the Dallas Texans and started 20 games for the team last season.

IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Coach Hudson and his staff welcomed four student-athlete transfers to SMU. All four will have the opportunity to be impactful.  Brandon Terwege transferred to SMU from UCLA and will look to make an immediate impact on the Mustangs' backline. The junior started 37 games for the Bruins over a two-year span. The Highland Village, Texas, native was a member of the U.S. U-19 National Team and was a top 100 recruit nationally in high school per multiple publications. Gabriel Costa is a sophomore from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and played at Azusa Pacific in 2018. At APU he played in 20 games, scoring 14 goals and tallying 13 assists. His performance as a freshman earned him Division II United Soccer Coaches All-American honors, in addition to conference player of the year honors. Nick Taylor is a forward that joins the Mustangs from New Mexico, where he started all 17 games for the Lobos as a sophomore. He tallied four goals, good for second-best on the team. Taylor was also named second team All-Conference USA. Henrik Bredeli spent his freshman season at North Carolina where he did not see action. The Tranby, Norway, native trained with Strømsgodset, which plays in Norway's highest division. He started as a defender in 50 matches with Strømsgodset's second team and appeared on Norway's youth national teams.

KNOW YOUR FOE
Last year, under then first-year head coach Kevin Kalish, the Billikens finished 6-4-7. Historically, SLU has the most national championships (10) of any school in the country - but haven't won one since 1973.

SERIES HISTORY
The Mustangs and Billikens have met 34 times, splitting the series 14-14-6. The two teams met last year and played to a 1-1 draw. The two squads played every year but three from 1975-2000. COMING UP • SMU continues its five-game homestand on Monday, Sept. 9 when UC Riverside comes to Dallas for a contest slated to start at 7 p.m.