SMU (2-2-0, 0-0-0 AAC) vs. Baylor (3-1-1, 0-0-0 Big 12)
Betty Lou Mays Field - Waco, Texas
Thursday, Sept. 7 | 7:00 p.m. CT
ESPN+ | Live Stats
SMU Notes | Baylor
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SETTING THE SCENE
•The Mustangs enter Thursday's match 2-2 on the season after beating Stephen F. Austin and falling to Texas the previous week.
•Freshman Nyah Rose was named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll (Sept. 4). Rose scored three goals in the Mustangs' win over SFA on Thursday, Aug. 31. 
•SMU enters its third consecutive game on the road, all versus fellow lone star state opponents.
•Baylor comes into Thursday's match 3-1-1 with recent victories over Butler and Louisiana Tech.
•Thursday night's match is available to livestream on ESPN+.

SERIES HISTORY
•SMU holds an all-time record of 10-5 versus Baylor. The Mustangs came away with a 1-0 victory over the Bears in last year's non-conference matchup at Washburne Stadium.

2023 HONORS/AWARDS
•Preseason AAC Watchlist
    Samantha Estrada, Wayny Balata, Peyton Annen
•AAC Weekly Honors
    Aug. 28
    Eliana Salama (Offensive Player of the Week)
    Mayu Inokawa (Defensive Player of the Week)
    Samantha Estrada (Honor Roll)
    Sept. 4
    Nyah Rose (Honor Roll)

LAST TIME OUT
•SMU fell 6-0 to No. 18 Texas at Mike A. Myers Stadium on Sunday.
•SMU was assessed a red card in the second minute, forcing the Mustangs to play the remainder of the match with 10 players on the field.

UP TO THIS POINT
•SMU holds a 2-2 season record with a ranked win versus No. 25 Tennessee and ranked losses to No. 18 Texas and No. 9 TCU.
•Nyah Rose recorded a hat trick to lead the SMU women's soccer team to a 3-1 victory at SFA.
•Eliana Salama scored the game-winner in the 83rd minute as SMU won its home opener 2-1 versus No. 25 Tennessee.
•SMU's match versus Houston Christian on Aug. 24 was canceled due to an illness within the HCU program.

HATS OFF
•Nyah Rose recorded a hat trick in SMU's 3-1 win over SFA, pushing her season goal total to four.
•Rose's three goals against SFA marks the latest SMU hat trick since Allie Thornton's four goals against Northern Colorado on Sept. 6, 2019.
•Rose's goal-per-game average (1) leads the AAC and is 14th among the nation.

DEFENSIVE PROWESS
•The Mustangs have allowed one or fewer goals in 18 of 23 games played under Head Coach Nicole Nelson.
•Samantha Estrada is averaging 5.5 saves per match in 151 minutes played.
•Mayu Inokawa was awarded AAC Defensive Player of the Week (Aug. 28) after helping SMU allow only six shots on goal against Tennessee.

2023 AAC WATCHLIST
• Samantha Estrada, Wayny Balata and Peyton Annen were all named to the AAC Women's Soccer Watch List to begin the 2023 season.
•     Estrada was awarded the AAC Goalkeeper of the Week and named AAC Weekly Honor Roll twice in 2022.
•     Balata was a Preseason All-AAC selection in 2022, a season in which she ranked first in the conference for penalty kicks (1).
•     Annen was selected to the AAC All-Rookie Team and honored once as the AAC Rookie of the Week in 2022.

MUSTANG CAPTAINS
•Samantha Estrada played and started in 9 games in 2022. The El Paso, Texas, native won AAC Goalkeeper of the Week (Sept. 26). Estrada saved 35 shots, posted 4 shutouts and obtained a goal-against average of .51 in 2022.
•Wayny Balata played in 11 games for the Mustangs, starting seven. The Montreal, Quebec, native scored four goals and assisted on one in 2022. Balata also led the conference in penalty kicks (1).
•Mackenzie Rudden played in all 19 games and started 12 in her first season with SMU. The Phoenix, Az., native scored the lone goal in the Mustangs' 1-0 win over Baylor and assisted on two scores in 2022. 

RECENT RECORDS
•SMU set two program defensive records in 2022. The Mustangs finished the year with a .854 (13 GA, 76 saves) save percentage and a .68 (13 GA, 1730 min) goals against average. 
•The two team records were made possible with a tremendous defensive outing throughout 2022, a season in which SMU allowed 1 or fewer goals in 15 of its 19 games (including AAC Conference Tournament Championship). SMU also tied for the program's 10th best season shutout tallies (8). 
•Goalkeepers Sam Estrada and Tatum Sutherland found themselves in the record books. Estrada posted the program's second-lowest goal against average (.51) through 701 minutes of play, while Sutherland achieved the fifth-lowest (.80) in 1008 minutes.

RETURNING SCORERS
•SMU returns five players who scored at least one goal during the 2022 season.
•Wayny Balata, Sammy Nieves, Mackenzie Rudden, Kaya Lee and Peyton Annen combined for a total of ten goals last season. Balata (4) tied for the Mustangs' second most scores in 2022.

RETURNING MUSTANGS
•The Mustangs return 16 players from the 2022 season.
•All 16 returners saw action in 2022, including six who played in all 19 games.
•Returning Mustangs account for 10 of 27 goals scored (37%), 15 of 21 assists made (71%), and 35 of 75 points accrued (47%) throughout the 2022 season. 
•SMU returns both of its primary goalkeepers in Samantha Estrada and Tatum Sutherland.

FRESH FACES
•SMU added eight freshmen and one transfer to its 2023 roster. 
•Sophomore Layla Garcia-Moreno from Angamacutiro Michoacan, Mexico and freshman Nyah Rose from Markham, Ontario,  join two other Mustangs who originate from outside the United States (Wayny Balata - Montreal, Quebec; Mayu Inokawa - Saitama, Japan).
•Four 2023 additions are Texas natives - freshmen Truth Byars (Richardson), Treasure Byars (Richardson), Emma Alvord (Argyle) and Aubrey Brown (Irving).
•Dima Kaliakin rounds out Head Coach Nicole Nelson's coaching staff in his first year at SMU. Kaliakin previously served as a graduate assistant at Ole Miss after working as an assistant coach for both the men's and women's soccer teams at his alma mater, Washington College.

RECAPPING 2022
•The Mustangs enter the 2023 season after a 10-4-5 campaign in 2022 that ended in a trip to play for the AAC Conference Tournament Championship against Memphis in Orlando, Fla.
•SMU tallied a 3-1-4 record on the road in 2022. All three of the Mustangs' non-conference road games (Tennessee, Oklahoma, San Francisco) ended in a draw.
•SMU was 5-0-3 in non-conference games in 2022.

UP NEXT
•SMU comes home to Washburne Stadium to face Oklahoma State on Sunday. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. and will be available to livestream on ESPN+.