Boxscore
VIDEO: Nieves breakaway goal in the 7th minute
VIDEO: Balata goal from Nieves in the 19th minute
VIDEO: Nieves goal from Lee in the 25th minute
VIDEO: Balata goal from Cisneros in 48th minute
VIDEO: Boland goal in the 52nd minute
VIDEO: Head Coach Nicole Nelson postgame on ESPN+
ORLANDO, Fla. (SMU) – SMU advanced to the American Athletic Conference championship final with a season-high five goals in a 5-0 win over USF in the semifinal at the UCF Soccer and Track Complex on Thursday. The final is Sunday at 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT.
Sammy Nieves and
Wayny Balata each had two goals in the match.
Jewel Boland also scored.
Kaya Lee, Julissa Cosneros and Nieves each had an assist in SMU's fourth straight victory.
Nieves opened the SMU (10-3-5) scored on a breakaway in the seventh minute to give the Mustangs the early lead. In the 19
th minute, the Mustangs doubled the lead as Nieves assisted a score by Balata. Nieves made it 3-0 in the 25
th minute with her second goal of the match.
After intermission, Balata got on the board again in the 48
th minute. Boland added to the scoring in the 52
nd minute.
Tatum Sutherland recorded three saves against USF (8-9) before leaving the game in the 78
th minute. This was the eighth shutout of the season for the Mustangs, and third in the past four matches. SMU has allowed zero goals or one goal in 16 of 18 matches this season.
This is the most goals for SMU on a conference tournament game since a 6-0 win against Texas Tech in the 1995 Southwest Conference Tournament.
The Mustangs will be going for the program's eighth conference tournament title on Sunday. SMU will face the winner of No. 4 Memphis or No. 1 UCF in the championship match at 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT on ESPNEWS.
