No. 22/15 SMU (4-2-0, 4-2-0 AAC) at No. 25 Tulsa (4-1-1, 4-1-1 AAC)
Hurricane Stadium - Tulsa, Okla.
Saturday, March 27, 2021 – 7 p.m. CT
Live Stats | Watch: ESPN+
SMU Game Notes (PDF) | Tulsa | American (PDF)
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No. 22/15 SMU heads to Tulsa, Oklahoma to face the No. 25 Golden Hurricane. The game will be on Saturday, March 27 at 7 p.m. CT and will be streamed on ESPN+.

SERIES HISTORY 
SMU and Tulsa have been playing since 1980 and have faced off every year but one since 1990. This will be the 48th meeting and 14th in Tulsa, where the Mustangs are 9-3-1. The two last played in 2019 when SMU won, 5-1, in Oklahoma. Current roster members Gabriel Costa and Knut Ahlander both scored goals and recorded assists. Costa had two of each. Brandon Terwege, Nick Taylor and Thomas Haney also started for SMU.

KNOW THE FOE 
Tulsa is currently leading the conference with 13 points after starting the season, 4-1-1. The only loss for the Golden Hurricane has come at USF and the tie was versus Temple. Tulsa has faced Memphis for its last two matches, winning both. The Golden Hurricane won the first, 2-0, and the second, 1-0 after playing to double overtime. Last Sunday's golden goal for Tulsa was scored by Alex Meinhard in the 101st minute. Meinhard was named the AAC Rookie of the Week after scoring the game-winning goals in both matchups versus Memphis. The Golden Hurricane is led by 13 upperclassmen and added eight true freshman to this season's roster.

IN THE POLLS
SMU is ranked No. 22 in the fourth week of the United Soccer Coaches Poll. Week one's No. 2 ranking was the highest for any team in AAC history. The Mustangs are ranked 15th in the Top Drawer Soccer Top 25 after starting 4-2-0. College Soccer News has SMU at No. 19 in its weekly Top 30.

THE SEASON'S START
SMU defeated USF for the second time this season, 3-2, in Dallas. Skage Simonsen scored all three goals for the first Mustang hat trick since October of 2019. Cole Johnson earned his first collegiate win with three saves. SMU lost its second match of the season versus UCF, 2-0. The Mustangs had eight shots on goal, but weren't able to finish one. The Mustangs dropped their first contest of the season at Temple, losing 2-0. SMU outshot the Owls, 14-10, and had six shots on goal during the match. SMU's first three wins were shutouts, marking the first time since 2006 that the Mustangs have started a season with three consecutive shutouts. SMU defeated Memphis, 5-0, in Dallas for a 2-0 series win this season. All five goals came in the second half with Papa Ndoye scoring twice for his second multi-goal game and Noah Hilt adding two assists. The Mustangs earned the largest shutout win since 2014 in their 7-0 win at USF. The seven goals also ties SMU's own AAC record for most in a conference game. Papa Ndoye and Nick Taylor both scored twice in the win at USF and Gabriel Costa was credited with two assists. Shane Lanson and Cole Johnson had the combined shutout for SMU's second in as many games. SMU started the 2020-21 season at Memphis with a 2-0 final. Tobin Shanks and Thomas Haney notched goals for the Mustangs while Knut Ahlander picked up a point with an assist.

MUSTANGS IN THE RANKINGS
SMU is No. 6 in the nation in scoring offense, outscoring opponents 17-6 in six games for a goals per game average of 2.83. The Mustangs are second in the conference in shutout percentage (0.500) and GAA (1.000). SMU is No. 12 in goal differential (11) and No. 7 in points per game (8.00). Noah Hilt is 12th in the NCAA for assists per game (1st AAC) with 0.83.

2020-21 HONORS

• Harvey Castro - AAC Weekly Honor Roll (March 22)
• Thomas Haney - AAC Defensive Player of the Week (Feb. 8), TDS/CSN Team of the Week (Feb. 9)
• Noah Hilt - AAC Defensive Player of the Week (March 1), TDS Team of the Week (March 1)
• Shane Lanson - 3x AAC Honor Roll (Feb. 8, Feb. 15, March 1)
• Papa Ndoye - AAC Offensive Player of the Week (Feb. 15), AAC Honor Roll (March 1), TDS/CSN Team of the Week (Feb. 16)
• Jose Ortiz - TDS Freshman to Watch
• Tobin Shanks - AAC Honor Roll (Feb. 8)
• Skage Simonsen - AAC Offensive Player of the Week (March 22), TDS Team of the Week (March 23)
• Nick Taylor - AAC Honor Roll (Feb. 15), TDS Honorable Mention (Feb. 16)

PRESEASON HONORS
Both Gabriel Costa and Papa Ndoye were named to the MAC Hermann Watch List for the upcoming season. SMU was picked to finish at the top of the American Athletic Conference, receiving all but one first place vote. Costa was chosen as the unanimous AAC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Costa and Knut Ahlander were both unanimously named to the Preseason All-Conference Team. Costa was picked for the Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Best XI First Team and as a College Soccer News Preseason All-American. Costa (9th), Ahlander (48th) and Ndoye (68th) landed spots on the Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Men's National Top 100.

NEW ADDITIONS
The Mustangs have added six freshmen and six transfers since the 2019 season for a total of 13 new faces on the Hilltop. Among the transfers is Papa Ndoye, a sophomore forward from Long Island University. Ndoye was one of SMU's two players named to the MAC Hermann Award Watch List. He is leading the team with four goals and 17 shots. The freshmen made their way to Dallas from California, Arizona and Johannesburg, South Africa, with two from the metroplex area choosing to stay close to home. 2020 midseason transfers consist of Judson Burns from Clemson, Ndoye from LIU, Skage Simonsen from St. John's and Timo Hummrich from Delaware. 2021's midseason transfers are Roman Knox from UNC and Eben Noverr from Virginia.

SENIOR STANGS
Brandon Terwege, Noah Hilt, Luke Thompson, Nick Taylor are the four seniors highlighting the Mustang roster. Terwege was recently selected by Houston Dynamo FC in the third round of the MLS SuperDraft with the 57th overall pick. He was named to the AAC All-Tournament Team in 2019 after scoring the OT game-winning goal in the tournament semifinal game. The defender had two goals and three assists while helping SMU to 11 total shutouts. Hilt played in 20 games during 2019, scoring two goals and totaling two assists, including one in the NCAA Sweet 16 leading to the game-winning goal. Thompson and Taylor saw multiple games for the Mustangs during the 2019 season, with Taylor recording three assists.

ABOUT ATTENDANCE
Matches at Washburne Soccer and Track Stadium will not be open to the general public this season.

UP NEXT 
SMU faces UCF for the second time this season on Friday, April 2 at 5 p.m. CT in Orlando. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.