Sunday, October 31
Orlando, Fla.
5 PM
SMU
at
UCF
Mustangs Travel To Take On UCF For Sunday Matchup
Oct 30 | Men's Soccer
SMU (7-3-3, 4-3-1 AAC) at RV UCF (8-5-0, 6-2-0 AAC)
UCF Soccer and Track Complex - Orlando, Fla.
Sunday, October 31, 2021 – 5 p.m. CT
Live Stats | Watch: ESPN+
SMU Game Notes (PDF) | UCF | American (PDF)
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SMU heads to Orlando for its final road trip of the regular season to take on UCF this Sunday, Oct. 31 starting at 5 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
SERIES HISTORYÂ
The Mustangs and Knights have faced off every season since 2005 and have seen multiple matches during five of those seasons. UCF took the first win of this season on Oct. 16 by a final score of 2-1 when the Knights rallied for two goals in the second half. During the spring, SMU dropped two matches and tied the third. UCF took both regular season games and advanced to the AAC tournament final after going 4-3 in PKs. The two have become rivals of sorts after playing each other during four of the last conference tournaments and the 2019 NCAA tournament. When playing in Orlando, UCF holds a 2-5-3 record over SMU, with the Mustangs' latest win coming in the 2019 AAC tournament.
KNOW THE FOEÂ
UCF holds an 8-5-0 record on the season, including a 6-2-0 record in AAC play. The team currently sits in the conference's No. 2 spot, just one point behind first-place Tulsa. The Knights most recently fell by a final score of 4-3 in overtime to USF in their second matchup of the season. UCF has taken down conference foes Temple twice, Memphis once, USF once and Tulsa once while falling one time to both Memphis and USF. The Knights were picked as the conference's preseason favorite while Yanis Leerman was selected as the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and a member of the Preseason All-Conference Team along with Gino Vivi and Anderson Rosa.
LAST TIME OUT
The Mustangs saw their fourth double overtime period of the season as they played to a scoreless draw against No. 8 Tulsa this past Wednesday. SMU out-shot Tulsa 18-17, but trailed the Golden Hurricane in shots on goal, 6-2. The finish was SMU's fifth shutout of the season as keeper Cole Johnson made six saves en route to the sixth clean sheet of his career. Two of his saves came during overtime to keep Tulsa from finding the golden goal. The midweek matchup's extra time was the second time that the Mustangs and Golden Hurricane played to double overtime during the 2021 campaign as Tulsa found the game-winner during the 110th minute earlier in the season.
MUSTANGS IN THE RANKINGS
SMU is second in The American in assists per game with 2.15 (26th NCAA), shots per game (15.08, 26th NCAA) and goals against average (0.86, 27th NCAA) and comes in at third in points per game (6.15, 32nd NCAA) and in goals per game (2.00, 32nd NCAA). Senior Gabriel Costa finds himself among the nation's leaders in points per game (25th, 1.54), assists per game (49th, 0.46) and goals per game (40th, 0.54) while teammate Knut Ahlander joins the rankings in assists per game (31st, 0.50). 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
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.
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.
UP NEXTÂ
SMU closes out its regular season on Friday, Nov. 5 as they host Memphis for Senior Day at Washburne Soccer and Track Stadium. The match is slated for a 7 p.m. start on ESPN+. The American Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals and final are scheduled to take place on Wednesday, Nov. 10 and Saturday, Nov. 13, respectively. The league's top-seeded team will host all three matches.
UCF Soccer and Track Complex - Orlando, Fla.
Sunday, October 31, 2021 – 5 p.m. CT
Live Stats | Watch: ESPN+
SMU Game Notes (PDF) | UCF | American (PDF)
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
SMU Mobile App
Apple | Google Play
SMU heads to Orlando for its final road trip of the regular season to take on UCF this Sunday, Oct. 31 starting at 5 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
SERIES HISTORYÂ
The Mustangs and Knights have faced off every season since 2005 and have seen multiple matches during five of those seasons. UCF took the first win of this season on Oct. 16 by a final score of 2-1 when the Knights rallied for two goals in the second half. During the spring, SMU dropped two matches and tied the third. UCF took both regular season games and advanced to the AAC tournament final after going 4-3 in PKs. The two have become rivals of sorts after playing each other during four of the last conference tournaments and the 2019 NCAA tournament. When playing in Orlando, UCF holds a 2-5-3 record over SMU, with the Mustangs' latest win coming in the 2019 AAC tournament.
KNOW THE FOEÂ
UCF holds an 8-5-0 record on the season, including a 6-2-0 record in AAC play. The team currently sits in the conference's No. 2 spot, just one point behind first-place Tulsa. The Knights most recently fell by a final score of 4-3 in overtime to USF in their second matchup of the season. UCF has taken down conference foes Temple twice, Memphis once, USF once and Tulsa once while falling one time to both Memphis and USF. The Knights were picked as the conference's preseason favorite while Yanis Leerman was selected as the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and a member of the Preseason All-Conference Team along with Gino Vivi and Anderson Rosa.
LAST TIME OUT
The Mustangs saw their fourth double overtime period of the season as they played to a scoreless draw against No. 8 Tulsa this past Wednesday. SMU out-shot Tulsa 18-17, but trailed the Golden Hurricane in shots on goal, 6-2. The finish was SMU's fifth shutout of the season as keeper Cole Johnson made six saves en route to the sixth clean sheet of his career. Two of his saves came during overtime to keep Tulsa from finding the golden goal. The midweek matchup's extra time was the second time that the Mustangs and Golden Hurricane played to double overtime during the 2021 campaign as Tulsa found the game-winner during the 110th minute earlier in the season.
MUSTANGS IN THE RANKINGS
SMU is second in The American in assists per game with 2.15 (26th NCAA), shots per game (15.08, 26th NCAA) and goals against average (0.86, 27th NCAA) and comes in at third in points per game (6.15, 32nd NCAA) and in goals per game (2.00, 32nd NCAA). Senior Gabriel Costa finds himself among the nation's leaders in points per game (25th, 1.54), assists per game (49th, 0.46) and goals per game (40th, 0.54) while teammate Knut Ahlander joins the rankings in assists per game (31st, 0.50). 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.
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.
UP NEXTÂ
SMU closes out its regular season on Friday, Nov. 5 as they host Memphis for Senior Day at Washburne Soccer and Track Stadium. The match is slated for a 7 p.m. start on ESPN+. The American Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals and final are scheduled to take place on Wednesday, Nov. 10 and Saturday, Nov. 13, respectively. The league's top-seeded team will host all three matches.
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