DENTON, Texas (SMU) – The SMU women's soccer team clinched the third seed of the American Athletic Conference Tournament in its 3-1 victory over North Texas at the Mean Green Soccer Complex on Thursday.
SMU's win improves the Mustangs' record to 9-5-1 on the season, including a 5-3-1 mark in conference play. North Texas falls to 8-5-3 overall record and a 2-4-3 AAC mark.
Eliana Salama got the Mustangs on the board first in just the seventh minute off an assist from
Abby Dermott. Salama's goal on Thursday marks her third goal of the season.
Nyah Rose scored SMU's second goal of the contest in the 47
th minute, upping her season goal total to nine. Rose poked the ball over the North Texas defender's head before re-controlling and striking into the right corner of the net.
Rose entered Thursday's match with the AAC's second-ranked total goals and goals-per-game (.57).
Kaya Lee scored SMU's final goal of the contest in the 71
st minute, striking outside the box and sinking the ball into the top right corner of the net. Lee's goal marked the second of her career – her first coming in last season's match against North Texas.
The Mustangs went on to outshoot the Mean Green 17-15 on the night, including 7 shots on goal. SMU has now outshot its last six opponents 82-41. The Mustangs are now 9-0-0 this season when scoring before opponents.
Samantha Estrada tallied four saves on the night in the 90-minute effort, upping her season save total to 54. Estrada now ranks ninth all-time in SMU program history with 170 career saves.
SMU continued its defensive streak of holding opponents to one or fewer goals in 27 of 34 matches played under Head Coach
Nicole Nelson.
The Mustangs will play Tulsa in the AAC Tournament quarterfinal round on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. (CT) in Lakewood Ranch, Fla.
