BOX SCORE
DALLAS (SMU) – SMU men's soccer topped No. 8 Stanford for a 3-1 season-opening victory on Thursday night at Washburne Soccer and Track Stadium.
The Mustangs (1-0-0, 0-0-0 AAC) led the Cardinal (0-1-0, 0-0-0 Pac-12) in nearly every category as head coach
Kevin Hudson picked up his sixth win over a top-10 team since taking the helm.
"It's a good win," Hudson said. "They're a perennial top-10 team, but we have to also temper ourselves a bit that it's one win. It's one result in a long, but quick season."
Stanford struck first as defender Noah Adnan scored with an assist from Ousseni Bouda.
The Mustangs knotted the contest at 1-1 in the 28
th minute. After missing his first opportunity in the middle of the box, forward
Papa Ndoye connected with a pass from freshman midfielder
Kyran Chambron Pinho that slipped just past the Stanford defender and allowed Ndoye to send a shot off his left foot and into the back of the net.
The two battled for the rest of the half, but went into the break still tied at one apiece.
Both teams showed intensity to begin the second half of regulation before SMU broke the game open in the 78
th minute, when senior midfielder
Gabriel Costa scored both the tie-breaker and game-winner within 15 seconds of game action.
Costa broke the tie with a header that scored off a deflected penalty kick to put the Mustangs ahead 2-1 at the 77:08 mark. His second strike came at 77:23 as he caught up with a pass from
Timo Hummrich at the midfield line. Just five yard past the line, Costa took a shot that sailed over the Cardinal keeper and landed in the goal, giving SMU a 3-1 lead with 12 minutes remaining.
"I saw he was coming out of the goal, and I didn't even think – I just shot it," Costa said of his impressive tally.
The Mustang defense held strong to capture the victory as
Thomas Haney,
Brandon Terwege and
Mads Westergren helped to hold the backline steady. In goal, keeper
Cole Johnson earned the first win of the season, making one save on the night.
"The first half was chaotic, being down for the first 25," Hudson said "We matched the physicality and effort and energy that Stanford always brings. Then we got the ball down and started playing. Once we could play a bit and be able to pass through their initial pressure, the space opened up. The second half we were on top of the ball."
SMU is back in action at Washburne Soccer and Track Stadium next Thursday, Sept. 2 as they take on Houston Baptist. The match is set for a 7 p.m. start and will be shown on ESPN+.
