No. 19 SMU (4-1-3) vs. Baylor (2-3-2)
Washburne Soccer and Track Stadium – Dallas, Texas
Sunday, Sept. 18 | 7 p.m. CT
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SMU Notes | The American | Baylor
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SETTING THE SCENE
•    No. 19 SMU hosts Baylor in the final non-conference game of the season. The Mustangs are 4-0-3 outside of league play this season. 
•    SMU is 4-1-3 after a 2-1 loss in the American Athletic Conference opener against ECU. Julissa Cisneros scored in the 33rd minute to get SMU on the board first, but the Pirates found the net in the 41st and 86th minutes.
•    Cisnerros was named to the American Athletic Conference weekly honor roll for the second straight week. She had two goals in the 3-0 win over North Texas and the tying goal at San Francisco.
•    The Mustangs loss to ECU ended an unbeaten streak through the first seven matches, which is the longest unbeaten start for SMU since the first 24 matches of the 1995 season. In 1995, SMU finished 23-1-1 and reached the College Cup semifinals.
•    The Mustangs are 4-1 at home this season and 12-2-1 at home over the past two seasons.

AAC LEADERS
•    SMU is leading the league in save percentage (.864) and is second in goals against average (.750). Julissa Cisneros is leading the AAC (16th NCAA) with six goals and ranks second in the league with two game-winners.

LEADING MUSTANGS
•    Graduate senior Courtney Sebazco - MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List honoree and preseason All-AAC selection - has two goals and two assists on the season. She has already been AAC Offensive Player of the Week twice this season.
•    Julissa Cisneros leads the AAC  scoring with six goals and Sammy Nieves has a goal and a team-high three assists. Cisneros was on the AAC Weekly Honor Roll for Sept. 5  and Sept. 12.
•    Senior goalkeeper Samantha Estrada, has 28 saves and allowed just three goals in 521 minutes. She has two AAC Weekly Honor Roll nods in 2022.

 IN THE TOP 25
•     SMU is No. 19 in the most recent United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll (Sept. 13). The high this season was No. 15 on Aug. 23 and Aug. 30.  
•    SMU has been ranked in 15 straight United Soccer Coaches Top 25 polls (last 10 of 2021 and the first five of 2022).
•    SMU was No. 21 in the final poll last season after being as high as No. 14 twice in 2021.
•    SMU was ranked No. 3, the highest ranking in program history, in the final poll at the end of the 1995 season after advancing to the 1995 College Cup, finishing with a 23-1-1 record. 

BALANCED SCORING
•    Six Mustangs have scored at least one goal already this season and 10 have recorded at least one point. 

HERMANN TROPHY WATCH LIST
•    Courtney Sebazco was named to the preseason Hermann Trophy Watch List. She has two goals and two assists in the first five matches of the season. The preseason All-AAC honoree also garnered AAC Offensive Player of the Week twice and was on College Soccer News Team of the Week for Aug. 22.

LAST TIME OUT
•    No. 19 SMU suffered its first defeat of the season in a 2-1 decision against ECU at Washburne Stadium. The Mustangs scored first when Julissa Cisneros tapped in a rebound in the 33rd minute. ECU evened the match in the 41st minute and then scored the winner in the 86th minute. Courtney Sebazco had a team-leading six shots. Jewel Boland had four shots as SMU outshot the Pirates 15-5.

SERIES HISTORY
•    SMU is 9-5 against Baylor, including a 5-3 record at home. The Mustangs lost 2-1 in overtime in Waco last season.

UP NEXT
•     SMU plays a Thursday matchup at Temple at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT on ESPN+

SMU in 2021
•    SMU was 12-5-2 overall, with a 4-2-2 AAC mark, which featured three teams in the NCAA RPI top 30 and six of nine members in the top 75.
•    All 4 AAC wins were shutouts.
•    The Mustangs were 8-1-1 at home and 4-4-1 on the road.
•    11 different players scored, with seven hitting the back of the net more than once.
•    SMU outscored opponents 27-17 with 10 shutouts.
•    SMU advanced in the NCAA Tournament with a 2-0 win against No. 21 Texas. 

COACHES CORNER
•     First-year head coach Nicole Nelson previously spent eight seasons as an Associate Head Coach and Assistant Coach for the Mustangs from 2012-2019 under previous head coach Chris Petrucelli.
•    Prior to her time on the Hilltop, Nelson served as head coach at Oklahoma (2007-11), assistant coach under Petrucelli at Texas (2006-07), recruiting coordinator/assistant coach at Baylor (2005), and head coach at Stephen F. Austin (2002-04). 

RETURNING MUSTANGS
• The Mustangs return 20 players from the 2021 season.
• Of the 18 returners, 9 saw playing time in 2021. 
• Returning Mustangs account for 21 of 28 goals scored (75%), 14 of 23 assists made (61%), and 52 of 79 points accrued (66%) throughout the 2021 season. 
• SMU returned both of its primary goalkeepers in Samantha Estrada and Tatum Sutherland.

NEW MUSTANGS
• SMU added nine freshman and three transfer additions to its roster for 2022. 
•    Mayu Inokawa, a sophomore midfielder transfer from Iowa Western Community College hailing from Saitama, Japan, joins two other Mustangs who originate from outside the United States (Wayny Balata - Montreal, Quebec; Jordina Colomer - Manlleu, Catalunya, Spain).
•    Three 2022 additions are Dallas-area natives - USF transfer Hannah Wrigley (Lewisville); freshman Peyton Annen (Plano); freshman Jen Jackson (Dallas). 

2022 AAC All-Preseason Team
• Wayny Balata and Courtney Sebazco were named to the American Athletic Conference Preseason All-Conference Team.
• Senior midfielder Balata scored a team-high six goals in 2021, and added two assists for a total of 14 points. 
•    Sebazco logged four goals and four assists on the year, earning 12 points for the Mustangs. 


2022 AAC PRESEASON COACHES POLL
1    Memphis (6)    62
2    South Florida (1)    52
3    UCF (1)        48
    SMU        48
5    Cincinnati    33
    Houston (1)    33
7    Temple        20
8    East Carolina    19
9    Tulsa        10

FIRST-PLACE VOTES IN PARENTHESIS

ESPN+ COVERAGE
• This season, all of SMU's home matches will be
featured on ESPN+ along with most away
games. Stay up-to-date on coverage information
on SMUMustangs.com.

2022 HONORS & AWARDS
• Preseason All-AAC
    Wayny Balata, Courtney Sebazco
• Hermann Trophy Watch List
    Courtney Sebazco
•    College Soccer News National Team of the Week
    Aug. 22 - Courtney Sebazco
• AAC Weekly Honors
    Aug. 22
    Courtney Sebazco (Offensive Player of the Week)
    Peyton Annen (Rookie of the Week)
    Samantha Estrada (Honor Roll)
    Aug. 29
    Sammy Nieves (Honor Roll)
    Sept. 5
    Courtney Sebazco (Offensive Player of the Week)
    Julissa Cisneros (Honor Roll)
    Samantha Estrada (Honor Roll)
    Sept. 12
    Julissa Cisneros (Honor Roll)