SMU (7-3-2, 4-3-0 AAC) vs. No. 8/5 Tulsa (11-1-0, 6-1-0 AAC)
Washburne Soccer and Track Stadium - Dallas, Texas
Wednesday, October 27, 2021 – 7 p.m. CT
Live Stats | Watch: ESPN+
SMU Game Notes (PDF) | Tulsa | American (PDF)
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The Mustangs host the No. 8 Golden Hurricane for the second matchup of the season between the two this Wednesday, Oct. 27. The match at Washburne Soccer and Track Stadium is slate for a 7 p.m. start on ESPN+.

SERIES HISTORY 
SMU and Tulsa will play their 51st match in program history on Wednesday night. The Mustangs hold a 33-13-4 record over the Golden Hurricane, including a 21-5-2 record when playing in Dallas. The first matchup between the two programs was September 6, 1980 when SMU won 9-0 in Tulsa. The two have played every season but one since 1990. Tulsa came out on top during this season's first matchup on Sept. 29 at Hurricane Stadium. The Golden Hurricane won 2-1 in double overtime to deliver SMU its first loss.  After playing 50 times, contests between the Mustangs and Golden Hurricane have only seen overtime eight times, including twice during conference tournaments.

KNOW THE FOE 
Tulsa has fallen only once this season and holds an AAC-best record of 11-1. They are tied for the conference top spot with a 6-1 record in AAC play for 18 points. Tulsa's sole loss of the 2021 campaign came when playing UCF in Orlando when the Knights won 3-2. The Golden Hurricane have shut out six opponents this season, the most recent being Memphis during their latest contest. The team is ranked eighth in this week's United Soccer Coaches poll and fifth in the Top Drawer Soccer poll. Forward Alex Meinhard was named the week's AAC Offensive Player of the Week after scoring four of Tulsa's five goals against Memphis.

LAST TIME OUT
The Mustangs used four different goal scorers in their 4-0 win over USF on Friday night, which marked the second shutout win over the Bulls this season. SMU's first goal came in the 24th minute when Roman Knox scored the eventual game-winner and gave the Mustangs a 1-0 lead that held until halftime. The team scored three additional goals in the second half as Kyran Chambron Pinho tallied his first collegiate goal thanks to an assist from Knut Ahlander. Harvey Castro and Brandon Terwege rounded out the night's scoring as Castro scored with a helper from Ahlander before Terwege added extra insurance off a corner kick from Castro. Mustang keeper Cole Johnson tallied two saves en route to his fourth shutout this year. 

MUSTANGS IN THE RANKINGS
SMU is tied for first in The American in assists per game with 2.33 (17th NCAA), second in shots per game (14.83, 31st NCAA) and goals against average (0.94, 44th NCAA) and comes in at third in points per game (6.67, 22nd NCAA) and in goals per game (2.17, 26th NCAA). Senior Gabriel Costa finds himself among the nation's leaders in points per game (19th, 1.67), assists per game (31st, 0.50) and goals per game (32nd, 0.58) while teammate Knut Ahlander joins the rankings in assists per game (22nd, 0.55). In the NCAA's second set of RPI rankings, SMU is the AAC's third highest-ranked team at 55, behind No. 6 Tulsa and No. 41 UCF.

NOT SOMETHING YOU SEE EVERY DAY
SMU keeper Cole Johnson totaled a career-high 10 saves in the team's loss to UCF while the team added two for a total of 12. Johnson's double-digit saves was the highest total for the Mustangs since Oct. 6, 2019 when Grant Makela saved 10 versus then-No. 11 UCF in Dallas. The performance helped the sophomore reach his current save total of 30, which is the second-most in the AAC behind first place Colin Welsh from Memphis, who has 44.

TOP TALENT ON THE HILLTOP
Four Mustang freshmen were named to Top Drawer Soccer's Midseason Men's Freshmen Top 100.  Mads Westergren led the way for SMU, coming in at No. 6 and was followed by No. 9 JP Jordan, No. 43 Bailey Sparks and No. 63 Kyran Chambron Pinho. SMU led the conference with four selections and is tied for the most selections on the list across the NCAA with just two other programs: Akron and UCLA. Eight schools follow with three selections apiece. In the Midseason Men's National Top 100, three SMU upperclassmen were recognized as the Mustangs were one of 12 programs with three or more selections. Senior Gabriel Costa is ranked eighth while senior Knut Ahlander came in at No. 29 and junior Papa Ndoye is No. 56.

2021 HONORS

• Kyran Chambron Pinho - AAC Rookie of the Week (Aug. 30, Oct. 4, Oct. 25), AAC Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 6)
• Harvey Castro - AAC Weekly Honor Roll (Oct. 25)
• Gabriel Costa - AAC Offensive Player of the Week (Aug. 30), AAC Weekly Honor Roll (Sept. 6, Sept. 20, Oct. 4), TDS National Player of the Week (Sept. 21), TDS/CSN Team of the Week (Aug. 31)
• Cole Johnson - AAC Goalkeeper of the Week (Sept. 27), AAC Weekly Honor Roll (Sept. 6, Sept. 13)
• Papa Ndoye - AAC Weekly Honor Roll (Sept. 20)
• Bailey Sparks - AAC Rookie of the Week (Sept. 6, Oct. 11)
• Brandon Terwege - AAC Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 25), AAC Weekly Honor Roll (Sept. 13, Sept. 27, Oct. 18)
• Lane Warrington - AAC Weekly Honor Roll (Sept. 27)

PRESEASON HONORS
Four Mustangs were named to the Preseason All-AAC Team as Knut Ahlander and Skage Simonsen were unanimous selections while Gabriel Costa and Papa Ndoye joined their teammates as the other two selections. SMU's four All-Conference players were the most selections by any school. SMU earned two first-place votes in the 2021 AAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, where they came in second, just one point behind UCF. Two freshmen were recognized by Top Drawer Soccer as Bailey Sparks was named a Pro Academy Signee to Watch and JP Jordan was named a Non-Pro Academy Impact Freshman.

HUDSON VERSUS RANKED
Head Coach Kevin Hudson is 8-9-5 when playing Top-25 teams during his tenure on the Hilltop after earning a 3-1 win over then-No. 8 Stanford in August, playing to a 1-1 draw against then-No. 23 Saint Louis and falling to then-No. 7 Tulsa in September. After the ranked matchups during the 2021 fall season, Hudson is 6-5-1 when playing against specifically Top-10 teams.
Hudson's highest-ranked Top-10 win was a victory over No. 2 Duke during the 2019 campaign. Other wins came over No. 10 Denver in 2015, No. 8 UConn in 2018. SMU defeated UCF twice during the 2019 season, once while the Knights were ranked fifth and once while ranked eighth. Two of the four losses have been in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament when SMU dropped a contest to No. 5 Akron in 2015, No. 7 UNC in 2017 and No. 1 Virginia in 2019. The fourth came against No. 1 Stanford during the 2017 regular season. The Mustangs tied No. 7 UCF before winning the 2018 AAC Tournament Championship in penalty kicks 5-4.

NEW ADDITIONS
The Mustangs have added 11 freshmen and one transfer, Quentin van der Lee, to the 2021 roster for a total of 12 new faces on the Hilltop. SMU's 2021 recruiting class entered the season ranked No. 10 by Top Drawer Soccer. Freshmen Bailey Sparks and JP Jordan were recognized by Top Drawer Soccer heading into the season as freshmen to watch. The freshmen made their way to Dallas from Alabama, California, Colorado, Germany and Denmark as well as Houston and Austin. Three hail from the metroplex as they chose to embrace Dallas' college.

SENIOR STANGS
SMU's 2021 roster boasts 10 seniors and two graduate students to total 14 upperclassmen. This year's senior class includes Knut Ahlander, Gabriel Costa, Thomas Haney, Timo Hummrich, Roman Knox, Shane Lanson, Wyatt Priest, Tobin Shanks, Skage Simonsen and Lane Warrington. Joining van der Lee as a graduate student, Brandon Terwege is back on the Hilltop for another season. The defender was selected by Houston Dynamo FC in the third round of the 2021 MLS SuperDraft with the 57th overall pick. In the spring, he helped SMU to four shutouts and started in nine games, playing all 90 minutes in each. Six of last season's primary starters are part of this year's senior class.

ABOUT ATTENDANCE AT WASHBURNE
Fans will be welcome at Washburne Soccer & Track Stadium and bleachers will be provided on the east side of the track. The fan entrance will be at the southeast corner near Doak Walker Plaza. Food trucks and bathrooms will be provided at Ford Stadium.

UP NEXT 
The Mustangs face UCF for their second matchup of the season on Sunday, Oct. 31 at 5 p.m. CT in Orlando before heading back to Dallas to close out the season against Memphis on Friday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. Both matches will be shown on ESPN+.