SMU Trusting Prior Experience For NCAA Championship Showdown
Nov 23 | Men's Soccer
DALLAS (SMU) – It is a situation the SMU men's soccer program has found itself in before. In fact, the Mustangs have been here each of the last three seasons – a top 16 national seed in the NCAA Tournament with a first-round bye and a round of 32 matchup at home.Â
Only this time, things feel slightly different.Â
After a year of battling through the ACC gauntlet, the No. 12 Mustangs (10-2-6) head into Sunday's 6 p.m. showdown with Washington (8-5-7) ready for what comes next.Â
"We should be well prepared for these moments. We played really big games against some of the top teams in the country all season," said SMU Men's Soccer Head Coach Kevin Hudson. "It's not like a game where we look at it and we're like, 'Oh, now we're going to play teams that are really good.' We've seen really good teams. The level of athleticism and competition and competitiveness should not overwhelm us."
Of the 16 seeded teams in the NCAA Tournament, seven hail from the ACC, with nine total teams from the league earning a spot in the bracket. Over the course of the season, SMU faced seven programs in the tournament field, going 2-2-4 in those matchups.Â
The upgrade in regular season competition has the team feeling positive heading into Sunday. The biggest unknown is how the action will look after a two-week layover.Â
In previous years, the Mustangs rolled from the conference tournament into the NCAA competition with just a few days of recovery. After a tough double overtime tie with Wake Forest in the ACC quarterfinals back on November 10, the Mustangs have essentially been in limbo waiting for what comes next.Â
Thanks to the bye from being a national seed, the team got some additional time to recover and prepare, sharpening their focus over the last two weeks.Â
"It's been great to get a little time off, to reset expectations and get ourselves focused again has been really nice," Hudson said. "I think we've managed it about as well as we can, getting the right amount of work and still having the right amount of recovery."
All season, the Mustangs proved they could stand toe-to-toe in a league with college soccer's best programs. Now, they carry that experience into the postseason. SMU last reached the quarterfinals in 2019 and participated in the College Cup in 2005.Â
Getting to the tournament is half the battle. Now, the Mustangs are ready for the war ahead.Â
"We're happy with where we're at – but never take it for granted," Hudson said. "It's a really good place to be. If you had said top 16 at the end of the year and two weeks off, I would be smiling."
