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No. 15 SMU (10-2-5, 4-2-2 ACC) vs. Wake Forest (9-4-5, 4-2-2 ACC)
Washburne Stadium – Dallas, Texas.
Sunday, Nov. 10 | 3 p.m. (CT)
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DALLAS - A year of firsts has continued for No. 15 SMU Men's Soccer by hosting and winning their first ACC tournament match on Wednesday and will host the quarterfinal round on Sunday.

The Mustangs played their first match as an ACC program on Aug. 22, its first ACC game on Sept. 7 and now have an ACC tournament match and win under their belt after defeating Boston College 1-0 in the opening round. SMU will also host the quarterfinal round with Wake Forest coming to Washburne Stadium on Sunday at 3 p.m.

"It's cool, playing in the ACC, this is my first time," senior forward Bailey Sparks said. "We played a lot of good opponents this year and to be able to finish fourth and then move into this game and host this game and then host next as well, it's exciting. It's something we've never done before. … We're making history, so we're happy about it."

The regular season included matches against five teams currently in the Top 25 of the RPI, including three in the Top 5. Four of the Top 25 and two of the Top 5 matches came in ACC play.

"I don't know how many teams in the Top 25 of the RPI we've played, but there's numerous. There's plenty," SMU head coach Kevin Hudson said. "So yeah, on any day I feel very confident that we can play with and beat anyone. We can also lose to anyone. This league has you very well prepared. ... This league is a monster. So, I knew it would be a gauntlet and I knew it would be really challenging. Here we are in early November, and it's definitely lived up to the expectations."

Even in SMU's first-round game, there were differences from years past. Even though Boston College was the No. 13 seed, it was coming off a win at eighth-ranked, and No. 4 in the RPI, North Carolina in its regular season finale. And with their season on the line, the Eagles threw everything they could at SMU.

"Ending a team's season is always hard, right?" Hudson said. "It's always hard to get over the line, because there's caution to the wind and there's nothing to lose, so they'll do anything. Credit to Boston College, a good team, definitely tested us. Had some really talented pieces. Happy to find the result. They made it hard. They defended well."

There isn't much time to rest and enjoy this historic win, though. Fifth-seeded Wake Forest comes to Dallas with a score to settle. That match comes just over two weeks after SMU earned a 3-0 win against the same team.

"(Wake Forest) is a good team," Hudson said. "You won 3-0, but we saved a penalty at 1-0 and they had a handball called back on a counterattack off our own restart. So, Wake Forest can walk in here going like, 'We were toe-to-toe with SMU.' My fear is SMU says, 'We beat Wake Forest 3-0.' So it's our job to remind them of who Wake Forest is and how they play and how they can hurt us."

There is a benefit to playing a team again so soon.

"I'd say we know how they play, right?" senior defender Cesar Ruvalcaba said. "We've seen them once. We've kind of seen what their weaknesses are and we can go back to that film and see if we can pick some other things apart, how do we expose them even more? How do we strengthen our strengths, in a sense, see how we can capitalize."

But Ruvalcaba and his teammates know Wake Forest will be coming into the game with something to prove and revenge on their minds. 

"It's always tough to win a second time, for sure," Sparks said. "You know they're going to come out and be hot. But we'll be prepared and, hopefully, it'll go the same way."

Even though the Demon Deacons are just outside the RPI Top 25 at No. 28 and have a good chance to make the NCAA tournament even with a loss, they will also try to improve their postseason position with a victory.

"We can have no arrogance about us with any team we play," Hudson said. "There's a fine line and we want to play right on that line between confidence and arrogance, but we cannot step over. We have to respect every opponent and Wake Forest is a big enough name and brand that these guys know better than to take anybody lightly, especially them."