SMU (8-4-3, 5-4-1 AAC) at No. 2 Tulsa (13-1-1, 8-1-1 AAC)
Hurricane Stadium - Tulsa, Okla.
Wednesday, November 10, 2021 – 7 p.m. CT
Live Stats | Watch: ESPN+
SMU Game Notes (PDF) | Tulsa | American (PDF)
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The Mustangs travel to AAC No. 1 seed Tulsa for the semifinal round of the league tournament on Wednesday, Nov. 10. Action at Hurricane Stadium is slated for a 7 p.m. CT start and will be shown on ESPN+.

SERIES HISTORY 
SMU and Tulsa will play their 52nd match in program history on Wednesday night. The Mustangs hold a 33-13-4 record over the Golden Hurricane, including a 9-5-1 record at Hurricane Stadium. The Mustangs are 0-1-1 when facing the Golden Hurricane in the AAC tournament and 3-3-2 when playing in conference tournaments throughout program history. After playing to a 2-2 draw in 2015, Tulsa advanced off penalty kicks, 4-3. The other AAC matchup came in 2014 when SMU fell 2-0. The Golden Hurricane won 2-1 in double overtime to deliver SMU its first loss of the season on Sept. 29 at Hurricane Stadium before the two played to a scoreless draw on Oct. 27 when Tulsa came to Dallas.

KNOW THE FOE 
Tulsa fell only once during the regular season and finished with an AAC-best record of 13-1-1, good for 25 conference points. The sole loss of the 2021 campaign came when playing UCF in Orlando when the Knights won 3-2. The Golden Hurricane have shut out seven opponents this season, the most recent being SMU when the two played to a 0-0 draw.  The Golden Hurricane swept the AAC awards as Alex Meihard (Offensive Player of the Year), Mariano Fazio (Defensive Player of the Year), Henry Sach (Midfielder of the Year) and Alex Lopez (Goalkeeper/Rookie of the Year) all earned post-season honors. The team also had five First Team, one Second Team and on All-Rookie Team selection.

LAST TIME OUT
Skage Simonsen opened last Friday night's scoring against Memphis thanks to an assist from Lane Warrington in just the second minute, but the Tigers controlled the rest of the match starting in the fifth when they tallied their first of four goals. Despite being out-shot by SMU 24-14, Memphis scored in the fifth, 19th, 23d and 65th minutes to claim the 4-1 victory in last week's regular season finale. Keeper Cole Johnson totaled four saves on the night as he faced 14 total shots.

GET OUT YOUR BROOMS
SMU swept the American Athletic Conference weekly honors on Nov. 1 after an undefeated week that saw a 0-0 tie against then-No. 8 Tulsa and a 5-0 win at UCF. Skage Simonsen (Offensive), Brandon Terwege (Defensive), Cole Johnson (Goalkeeper) and Mads Westergren (Rookie) were all crucial in last week's finishes which helped SMU clinch a spot in next week's conference tournament.

MUSTANGS IN THE RANKINGS
SMU leads The American in assists per game with 2.20 (20th NCAA) and shots per game (15.67, 16th NCAA), is second in goals against average (1.00, 48th NCAA) and comes in at third in points per game (6.40, 24th NCAA) and in goals per game (2.13, 23rd NCAA). Senior Gabriel Costa finds himself among the nation's leaders in points per game (31st, 1.47) and goals per game (39th, 0.53) while teammate Knut Ahlander has cracked into the top-125 in assists per game (22nd, 0.50). In the NCAA's most recent set of RPI rankings, SMU is the AAC's second-highest ranked team at 46, behind No. 8 Tulsa.

NOT SOMETHING YOU SEE EVERY DAY
SMU keeper Cole Johnson totaled a career-high 10 saves versus UCF on Oct.16 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 41, which is the second-most in the AAC behind first place Colin Welsh from Memphis, who has 52.

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 CONFERENCE HONORS
Midfielders Knut Ahlander and Skage Simonsen saw All-AAC First Team nods for the second consecutive season after both making the list in the spring. Gabriel Costa and Brandon Terwege both earned spots on the All-Conference Second Team as a midfielder and defender, respectively. The honor marks the second straight for Terwege. Freshmen Bailey Sparks and Mads Westergren were named to the league's All-Rookie Team thanks to their contributions on offense and defense, respectively.

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, Nov. 1), AAC Weekly Honor Roll (Sept. 6, Sept. 13)
• Papa Ndoye - AAC Weekly Honor Roll (Sept. 20)
• Skage Simonsen - AAC Offensive Player of the Week (Nov. 1)
• Bailey Sparks - AAC Rookie of the Week (Sept. 6, Oct. 11)
• Brandon Terwege - AAC Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 25, Nov. 1), AAC Weekly Honor Roll (Sept. 13, Sept. 27, Oct. 18)
• Lane Warrington - AAC Weekly Honor Roll (Sept. 27)
• Mads Westergren - AAC Rookie of the Week (Nov. 1)

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 8-9-6 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, falling to then-No. 7 Tulsa in September and earning a 0-0 draw against then-No. 8 Tulsa in October. After the ranked matchups during the 2021 fall season, Hudson is 6-5-2 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.

UP NEXT 
Wednesday night's victor will face off against the winner from the UCF vs. Memphis match in the AAC Championship on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. CT.