No. 2 SMU (13-2-2, 7-0-1 AAC) vs. Denver (12-2-5, 7-0-1 Summit)

NCAA Championship - Second Round

 Sunday, Nov. 19 | 7:00 p.m. CT

Washburne Soccer Stadium - Dallas, Texas

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SMU Notes | Denver | American

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SETTING THE SCENE

The sixth seed Mustangs went undefeated in the AAC to win the regular-season outright and were in the top five in three separate polls upon final rankings: No. 2 - United Soccer Coaches, No. 1 - Top Drawer Soccer and No. 3 - College Soccer News and are ranked No. 4 in NCAA RPI.

SMU enters the 2023 NCA Championship holding its 21st regular-season conference title, with the Mustangs making their 35th NCAA Tournament appearance.

The Mustangs earned the No. 6 seed in the tournament, getting a bye before hosting Denver in the second round.

SMU is coming off a 2-1 loss against Charlotte in the AAC Tournament final, with Jelldrik Dallmann scoring for SMU.

For the 2023 AAC Men's Soccer Awards, the Mustangs received all but one major individual award. Defensive Player of the Year went to Mads Westergren, Cole Johnson earned Goalkeeper of the Year honors, Bailey Sparks received Midfielder of the Year, Rookie of the Year went to Niv Berkovitz and the coaches earned Coaching Staff of the Year.

SERIES HISTORY

Nov. 19, 2023 will be the eighth time the two programs have faced off, with the Mustangs going into the match leading the series, 4-1-1.

On Sept. 1, 2023, SMU fell in a hard fought road match versus Denver. Alexander Petraeus scored one in the 3-1 loss.

 

SUCCESS UNDER HUDDY

Hudson - SMU 102-40-17 (.695) is coming off of reaching his 100th win as head coach for the Mustangs on Oct. 27, 2023.

With Hudson as a Mustang, SMU has six NCAA Tournament appearances, including three Sweet Sixteens. Hudson has been with the team since 2007 and was promoted to head coach in 2015.

The last coach to reach 100 wins with the Mustangs was head coach Schellas Hyndman.

 

AAC HONORS

The Mustangs have accumulated 20 AAC weekly accolades: including 10 Honor Roll nods, four Offensive Players of the Week, four Goalkeepers of the Week, one Defensive Player of the Week and one Rookie of the Week.

In addition to the individual 2023 American Athletic Conference Awards, Cole Johnson, Bailey Sparks and Mads Westergren earned First Team All-Conference, with Jelldrik Dallmann also being placed on First Team in a unanimous selection.

As for the All-Rookie Team, Alex Salvo earned a unanimous selection. Niv Berkovitz was also placed on the All-Rookie list.

 

EARNING THE TITLE

The Mustangs clinched the outright regular season conference title after their 2-1 win over Temple.

This marked SMU's 21st conference championship.

Following the results of the AAC Tournament, the Mustangs will be seeking their 34th NCAA tournament appearance.

 

COLE-KEEPER OF THE YEAR

After 17 games into the 2023 season, Johnson has already recorded eight shutouts and 39 saves in 1,512 minutes in goal.

Three of Johnson's eight shutouts so far were earned consecutively: 1-0 against then-No. 25 Oral Roberts on Sept. 4, 1-0 against Saint Louis on Sept. 8 and 1-0 against Yale on Sept. 11.

For his efforts, Johnson has since earned AAC Goalkeeper of the Week honors four times, three of which were earned consecutively following play against Oral Roberts up until the week after the Mustangs' 2-1 win over Memphis.

Johnson also earned the AAC Goalkeeper of the Week accolade after posting six saves, including a penalty kick, at USF on Sept. 22. He was placed on the AAC Honor Roll after earning his eigth shutout against UAB.

Going into the postseason, Johnson was named the AAC Goalkeeper of the Year for his efforts.

 

FILLING THE STATS WITH JELLY

Dallmann has been named to the Hermann Trophy Watch List, the most prestigious award in NCAA soccer prior to logging his hat trick against UCA.

He is tied for first in the AAC in goals scored with 14.

Dallmann is also ranked in the top 100 national players by Top Drawer Soccer, coming in at No. 27.

He was named AAC Offensive Player of the Week for the weeks ending on Sept. 25, Oct. 1 and Oct. 8.

 

ASSISTING ON POINT

Bailey Sparks is tied with his teammate Petraeus for third in the conference in total assists scored on the season, with five.

As just a sophomore, Petraeus has 15 total assists so far on his career.

SMU's all time leader in assists is Diego Walsh with 39, he played for the Mustangs from 1999-2002.

 

NEW ADDITIONS

The Mustangs have added a 13-player 2023 recruiting class.

This group of newcomers ranks among the top 25 in the nation by Top Drawer Soccer. In addition, this marks SMU's fifth consecutive ranked recruiting class.

Lamar Bynum, Jelldrik Dallmann, Martin Dominguez, Richie Garcia and Oliver Hald bring additional experience to the Hilltop as transfers.

The remaining 8 new faces are highly-touted incoming freshmen who make their way to Dallas from California, Illinois, as well as overseas. Three hail from the metroplex.

 

CASH ME OUT

In his time off the pitch, senior midfielder Harvey Castro competed in a field of 1,026 Main Event entries to earn his first WSOP Circuit Ring at the ripe age of 21.

He cashed out with over $275,000.

 

THINKING OF HOME

Freshman Niv Berkovitz scored the first goal of the night against then-No. 25 FIU, promising himself before the game that he would score for his international ties.

In the following game, Berkovitz scored twice against FAU.

Berkovitz is a 21-year-old freshman, hailing to the Hilltop from Israel after serving in the Israeli army.

After scoring his goal against FIU, the military veteran broke down in tears on the field:
"The last two days have been some of the most difficult days of my life,"  Berkovitz said. "I hope all of my friends will come back safely — this was for them — and I want to thank everyone for their support. When I scored the goal, it was a really special moment that I will never forget," Berkvotiz said. "I am grateful for every single player who has supported me and given me the power to keep playing. The coaching staff has done everything they can to make me feel better."

He has since been named AAC Offensive Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week one time each, and was placed on two National Teams of the Week.

Most recently, Berkovitz tabbed the AAC Rookieof the Year award.

 

OUT CORNERED

The Mustangs have taken more corner kicks than their opponent in every single game this season, except for one game on the road against Tulsa on Oct. 21 and against Temple on Nov. 1.
 

SENIOR STANGS

This year's senior class includes Cole Johnson, Nathan Ashley, Harvey Castro, Jose Ortiz, Cody Black along with graduate transfer Jelldrik Dallmann.

Dallmann joins the Mustangs as the former ASUN Player of the Year and was also named first-team all-region by United Soccer Coaches.

 

PRESEASON AND SEASON HONORS

Sophomore forward Alexander Petraeus earned All-AAC Offensive Preseason Player of the Year honors.

Junior defender Mads Westergren earned All-AAC Defensive Preseason Player of the Year honors. 

Three Mustangs earned Top Drawer Preseason All-American honors: Jelldrik Dallman - Second Team, Mads Westergren - Third Team and Jaylinn Mitchell - Freshman

So far this season, SMU has had 20 AAC weekly accolades: including 10 Honor Roll nods, four Offensive Players of the Week, four Goalkeepers of the Week, one Defensive Player of the Week and one Rookie of the Week.

Honor Roll nods: Alexander Petraeus (2x), Mads Westergren (3x), ALex Salvo, Fredrik Skilberg, Jelldrik Dallmann, Kryan Chambron Pinho, Cole Johnson

Offensive Players of the Week: Jelldrik Dallmann (3x), Niv Berkovitz

Defensive Players of the Week: Kyran Chambron Pinho

Goalkeeper of the Week: Cole Johnson (4x)

Rookie of the Week: Niv Bekovitz

 

PONY UP DALLAS

In just seven days after it was announced that the Mustangs will be moving to the Atlantic Coast Conference, SMU raised $100 million to support the transition to the ACC.

The generous early commitments from a group of thirty donors that includes trustees and key donors  will enable SMU to compete with an elite group of national institutions with powerhouse athletic programs.

 

ESPN+ COVERAGE

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

 

NCAA TOURNAMENT, BY THE NUMBERS

This marks SMU's 35th NCAA Tournament appearance overall and sixth with participation from Hudson.

Also under Hudson, the Mustangs have reached the Sweet Sixteen three times.