MEMPHIS, Tenn. (SMU) – No. 14 SMU suffered a 5-0 defeat at Memphis Thursday night in the final match of the regular season. With the loss, just the second conference loss of the season for the Mustangs, SMU finished with a 4-2-2 record in the American Athletic Conference and 10-3-2 overall.
Samantha Estrada posted a career-high 10 saves, but SMU was out-shot 30-2 on a cold and rainy night. The Tigers (11-4-1, 5-3-0 The American) put 15 shots on goal, while SMU was unable to test Memphis goalkeeper Elizabeth Moberg.
Memphis scored its only goal of the first half in the 34th minute after intercepting an attempted clearance by the Mustangs. Haylee Spray found the top left corner from the edge of the 18-yard box. Early in the second half, an apparent power outage at the stadium resulted in darkness. As the lights came back on, Memphis took the dropped ball in the SMU half and quickly added a second goal as Jocelyn Alonzo hit the top right corner from close range.
Facing a 2-0 deficit less than two minutes into the second half, the Mustangs were forced to chase the game, trying to get on the attack. The Tigers took advantage and added a third goal in the 75th minute. The final 10 minutes of the match saw Memphis add another pair of goals for the 5-0 win.
Finishing as the No. 4 seed in The American, SMU will host No. 5 seed ECU in the first round of the conference tournament. The match will take place Sunday at the Washburne Soccer and Track Stadium at 1 p.m. on ESPN+. Regular-season champion USF will host the semifinals and final in Tampa, Fla., Nov. 4 and 7.