SMU (5-4-0, 5-4-0 AAC) vs. Temple (4-4-1, 4-4-1 AAC)
Washburne Soccer and Track Stadium - Dallas, Texas
Saturday, April 10, 2021 – 7 p.m. CT
Live Stats | Watch: ESPN+
SMU Game Notes (PDF) | Temple | American (PDF)
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SMU concludes its regular season against Temple on Saturday, April 10 at 7 p.m. CT at the Washburne Soccer and Track Stadium, where the Mustangs will honor their seniors. The game will be shown on ESPN+. Home matches during the 2020-21 season are closed to the general public.

SERIES HISTORY 
SMU and Temple have faced off a total of nine times in program history and every year since 2013. The Mustangs are 3-1-1 when playing the Owls in Dallas, with the only home loss coming in 2016. SMU fell to Temple earlier this season, 2-0. It was the first loss of the season for the Mustangs. Temple's Mike Eijgendaal and Pierre Cayet scored for the Owls in the 11th and 62nd minute, respectively. SMU finished with 14 shots, six on goal. Shane Lanson played in goal and had four saves. 

KNOW THE FOE 
Temple is at the No. 4 spot in the conference rankings with a 4-4-1 record and 13 points. The Owls have earned one win against USF, SMU, Tulsa and Memphis and earned a tie with Tulsa. They have fallen to UCF twice and Memphis and USF each once. The Owls earned a 3-2 overtime win in their last outing at Memphis. Eijgendaal and Nigel Griffith both scored in regulation. Cohen buried the game-winner in the 98th minute. The team is led by 14 upperclassmen and added seven freshmen to this season's roster.

THE SEASON'S RESULTS
Cole Johnson earned his first career shutout with five saves in SMU's 3-0 win over Tulsa. Harvey Castro scored his first collegiate goal with an assist from Papa Ndoye. Ndoye and Skage Simonsen scored the other two Mustang goals.  Ndoye scored his fifth goal of the season in SMU's 2-1 loss at UCF. Ndoye scored in the third minute assisted by Gabriel Costa and SMU held UCF scoreless the rest of the first half. The Knights scored in the 64th and 76th minutes for the win. The Mustangs fell, 2-1, at Tulsa for the third loss of the season. Costa scored SMU's goal in the 76th minute. Johnson finished with six saves. 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. 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 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. Ndoye and Nick Taylor both scored twice in the win at USF and 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. 11 in the nation in scoring offense, outscoring opponents 22-10 in eight games for a goals per game average of 2.44. The team leads the conference in goal differential (12 - 18th NCAA), points per game (6.89 - 14th NCAA) and assists per game (2.00 - 20th NCAA). Papa Ndoye is 4th in the NCAA for shots per game (1st AAC) with 4.57. Noah Hilt and Gabriel Costa are tied for 26th in the NCAA for assists per game (1st AAC) with 0.56.

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 seven 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 six goals and 32 shots. Skage Simonsen has made a big impact as a transfer, scoring five goals, including a hat trick against USF, which led to his selection as the American's Offensive Player of the Week. 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. Harvey Castro leads the freshman class, having played in all eight games with one goal. He added an assist versus USF, earning him a conference Weekly Honor Roll nod. Freshman goalkeeper Cole Johnson has seven appearances with five starts and two wins. He earned his first collegiate win against UCF in Dallas and his first shutout against Tulsa. 2020 midseason transfers consist of Judson Burns from Clemson, Ndoye from LIU, 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 and Nick Taylor are the four seniors highlighting the Mustang roster. Terwege was selected by Houston Dynamo FC in the third round of the 2021 MLS SuperDraft with the 57th overall pick. This season, he has helped SMU to four shutouts and has started in eight games, playing all 90 minutes. The defender recorded an assist at USF and has two shots. Hilt has started all nine games this season and is leading the team with five assists, including two versus Memphis. He also scored a goal against Memphis and has totaled 10 shots. Taylor has also started all nine games and scored twice at USF for the first two goals as a Mustang. The midfielder has tallied nine shots while helping the defense to four shutouts. Thompson has played in five games this season and had four shots.


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

UP NEXT 
SMU awaits its seeding for the American Athletic Conference Championship, which will take place on the campus of the No. 1 seed. Semifinals will be played on Thursday, April 15 and the championship game on Saturday, April 17.