Mustangs Well Prepared For Upcoming NCAA Tournament
Nov 19 | Men's Soccer
DALLAS (SMU) - The SMU men's soccer team discovered its fate for this year's NCAA tournament, the No. 12 seed, a first-round bye and a second-round home match.
It is the third straight year the Mustangs have earned a national seed and fourth time in the last six seasons. That still doesn't take away any of the joy that comes from hearing SMU's name called during the selection show.
"It's what we play for. You work all summer and through the fall to have the opportunity to play in big games at the end of November," SMU head coach Kevin Hudson said. "So, whoever we should get will be a great game. Both teams are quite good. We are pleased with the 12 seed, but we will wait for the game on Thursday and take whoever comes."
SMU will host the winner between Washington and Seattle U at 6 p.m. Sunday. By the time the Mustangs take the field, it will be a full two weeks since their last competitive match.
Last week, they focused on recovering after a grueling regular season schedule. They took the Monday and Tuesday off before training on Wednesday and Thursday. SMU played a simulated match on Friday, recovered Saturday and had Sunday off before getting back to work on Monday.
"That'll be a full 14 days between games. We knew that was a possibility," Hudson said. "We hoped to get a bye. That tends to be the recipe for longer term success in a tournament, a first-round bye. We'll manage this week appropriately and train (Tuesday), take off Wednesday, and then prepare for whoever may come."
The key is, whoever wins that first round matchup will have to come to Washburne Stadium. SMU played 12 of its 16 regular season matches at home and both ACC tournament matches. In those 14 home matches, the Mustangs are 8-1-5 on the year.Â
It's not just a reward for the team, but for everyone involved.
"We never take it for granted," Hudson said of having a tournament matc at home. "It's a really neat moment for these guys who work so hard for this opportunity to be able to play here in front of friends and family, and also for all the people who contribute within the athletic department and the community to give us these opportunities. It's pretty neat to play here in front of them and let them enjoy the moments too."
There was plenty to enjoy from the first ACC campaign, too. SMU finished fourth in the regular season standings, had Bailey Sparks and Kyran Chambron Pinho named All-ACC and it is tested like never before.
Nine ACC teams made the tournament, including seven national seeds. SMU played another two NCAA tournament teams, including national No. 3 seed Denver.Â
That makes for a team that is prepared for anything the postseason can throw its way.
"When you look through the RPI and the seeds and all that, even the unseeded teams, there are very, very good teams," Hudson said. "Either Seattle or Washington are both good enough to beat us. But there's not a team in the country that we look at and say, 'That team is totally different than we've seen.' You've played against, I don't know how many of the Top 16 teams, I don't know how many ACC teams are in, but it's got to be nine or 10 at this point. So, yeah, we're well tested. Hopefully this time off will give us a little bit of recovery, but we should be well prepared."
Trying to predict how the seeds and bracket will fall can be a tough task. In past years, the Mustangs felt they were in position for a higher seed than what they got, or didn't get a seed at all. This time, SMU was rewarded for playing a tough schedule and having success.
"We were the 15 RPI coming off not playing the last week, first year in the ACC, so you really don't know how to feel," Hudson said. "Traditionally, we were underseeded to our RPI, this one we were overseeded to our RPI. So, we're grateful for that. I honestly hoped somewhere between 13 and 16, but I don't think 12 is unjust. There's not a whole lot of difference between 9 and 16, you get a bye and get a home match. So yeah, we're very pleased."
