No. 16 SMU (3-0-2) vs. North Texas (4-1-1)
Washburne Soccer and Track Stadium – Dallas, Texas
Thursday, Sept. 8 | 7 p.m. CT
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SETTING THE SCENE
•    SMU is 3-0-2 after a 1-1 tie at Oklahoma on Sunday. Jewel Boland scored her first goal of the season. Samantha Estrada had five saves in the draw.
•    SMU earned three American Athletic Conference honors this week. Courtney Sebazco was named AAC Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season after a goal and an assist in the 2-0 win vs SFA. Julissa Cisneros and Samantha Estrada were selected to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll.
•     SMU is No. 16 in the most recent United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll (Aug. 30). The high this season was No. 15 on Aug. 23 and Aug. 30. The Mustangs have been ranked in 14 straight polls.
•    This is the fourth home match of the season for the Mustangs. The team is 3-0-0 at Washburne Stadium this season.
•    The Mustangs are undefeated through the first five matches - three home wins and two ties at , at No. 11 Tennessee and at Oklahoma. This is the longest unbeaten start for SMU since being unblemished through the first five matches of 2017 (W, T, T, W, W). The last time SMU was unbeaten through six or more was the first 24 matches of the 1995 season when SMU finished 23-1-1 and reached the College Cup.

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 (2 goals) and Sammy Nieves (1 goal, 2 assists) each have four points in the first five matches. Cisneros was on the Sept. 5 AAC Weekly Honor Roll.
•    Senior goalkeeper Samantha Estrada, has 24 saves and allowed just three goals in 405 minutes. She has two AAC Weekly Honor Roll nods in 2022.

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 and College Soccer News Team of the Week honors on Aug. 22.
SMU in 2021
•    SMU closed its 2021 season 12-5-2 overall, with a 4-2-2 mark against American Athletic Conference opponents. which featured three teams in the NCAA RPI top 30 and six of nine members in the top 75.
•    All four conference wins were shutouts.
•    The Mustangs were 8-1-1 at home and 4-4-1 on the road.
•    11 different players scored throughout the season, 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. 

LAST TIME OUT
•    No. 15 SMU and Oklahoma played to a 1-1 tie in Norman on Sunday. Jewel Boland put the Mustangs on the board in the 27th minute. Samantha Estrada had five saves for the Mustangs.

SERIES HISTORY
•    SMU is 13-4-3 against UNT as the teams meet during the regular season for the first time since 2011. The schedule match in 2020-21 was canceled due to COVID.

UP NEXT
•     SMU visits San Francisco on Sunday (3pm CT) in a return game from last season. SMU is 2-0 in the series after a 1-0 victory in Dallas in 2021

 IN THE TOP 25
•     SMU is No. 16 in the most recent United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll (Aug. 30). The high this season was No. 15 on Aug. 23 and Aug. 30. 
•    SMU has been ranked in 14 straight United Soccer Coaches Top 25 polls (last 10 of 2021 and the first four 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. 

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 sophmore 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)