No. 12/6 SMU (5-0-2, 2-0-0 AAC) at No. 7/4 Tulsa (7-0-0, 2-0-0 AAC)
Hurricane Stadium - Tulsa, Okla.
Wednesday, September 29, 2021 – 7 p.m. CT
Live Stats | Watch: ESPN+
SMU Game Notes (PDF) | Tulsa | American (PDF)
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No. 12 SMU travels to Tulsa for a contest at Hurricane Stadium on Wednesday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. The contest between the American Athletic Conference's two remaining undefeated teams will be streamed at ESPN+.

SERIES HISTORY 
SMU and Tulsa will play their 50th match in program history on Wednesday night. The Mustangs hold a 33-12-4 record over the Golden Hurricane, including a 9-4-1 record at Hurricane Stadium. The first matchup between the two programs was September 6, 1980 when SMU won 9-0 in Tulsa. The two have played every season but one since 1990. During the spring 2020 season, the two split wins with Tulsa earning a 2-1 victory in Tulsa and SMU earning the 3-0 win in Dallas. Despite playing 49 times, contests between the Mustangs and Golden Hurricane have only seen overtime seven times, including twice during conference tournaments.

KNOW THE FOE 
Tulsa joins SMU as they only two undefeated teams remaining in the American Athletic Conference with a 7-0-0 record. The Golden Hurricane have shut out four of opponents, the most recent being Memphis. Tulsa is ranked seventh in this week's United Soccer Coaches poll and fourth in the Top Drawer Soccer poll. This week's AAC honors saw Henry Sach named the conference's Defensive Player of the Week after helping the Golden Hurricane to a 1-0 shutout and converting a penalty kick. Forward Alex Meinhard was named the American Preseason Offensive Player of the Year while also being named to the Preseason team along with midfielder Chase Bromstedt and defender Mariano Fazio.

LAST TIME OUT
SMU is one of three programs to start conference play undefeated as the team earned its second shutout of the season in a 2-0 win against USF in Dallas on Friday. Lane Warrington scored his first of the season in the fourth minute thanks to assists from Knut Ahlander and Papa Ndoye. In the 47th minute, Jose Ortiz connected with a pass from Skage Simonsen to tally the second score of the night and record his third goal of the fall slate. Keeper Cole Johnson earned his second clean sheet with three saves against the Bulls as he faced 12 total shots.  

MUSTANGS IN THE RANKINGS
SMU checked in at No. 12 in the United Soccer Coaches poll and No. 6 in the Top Drawer Soccer poll on September 27.  SMU leads The American in shots per game with 15.57 (20th NCAA) and assists per game (2.71, 7th NCAA), is second in goals against average (0.67, 24th NCAA) and points per game (7.57, 11th NCAA) and comes in at third in goals per game (2.43, 13th NCAA).

COSTA LEADS THE WAY
Senior Gabriel Costa finds himself among the nation's leaders in points per game (6th, 2.43), assists per game (7th, 0.71) and goals per game (8th, 0.86). Costa leads the American Athletic Conference in total points with 17 and is tied for second with Tulsa's Ben Barkley in total assists with five.

NOT IN JOHNSON'S NET
Cole Johnson has allowed just one goal over his last 323 minutes in net after Friday night's shutout win over USF. The sophomore's goals against average of 0.67 (5 GA, 670 MIN) is the league's third-best number behind Temple's Eoin Gawronski and Tulsa's Alex Lopez. The total sits at No. 29 in the NCAA. 

2021 HONORS

• Kyran Chambron Pinho - AAC Rookie of the Week (Aug. 30), AAC Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 6)
• Gabriel Costa - AAC Offensive Player of the Week (Aug. 30), AAC Weekly Honor Roll (Sept. 6, Sept. 20), 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)
• Brandon Terwege - AAC Weekly Honor Roll (Sept. 13, Sept. 27)
• 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 garnered two first-place votes in the 2021 AAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, where they came in at second, just one point behind No. 1 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 8-8-5 when playing Top-25 teams during his tenure on the Hilltop after earning a 3-1 win over then-No. 8 Stanford in August and playing to a 1-1 draw against then-No. 23 Saint Louis in September. After the Aug. 26 win over No. 8 Stanford, Hudson is 6-4-1 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 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. Quentin van der Lee sits as the lone transfer addition, coming to the Hilltop as a graduate student from Trinity University. 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 
SMU returns to Washburne Soccer and Track Stadium on Sunday, October 3 to face Temple starting at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.