SMU (4-3-0, 0-0-0 ACC) vs. Syracuse (6-1-1, 0-0-0 ACC)
Washburne Stadium - Dallas, Texas
Thursday, Sept. 12 | 7 p.m. (CT)
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// SETTING THE SCENE

• The SMU women's soccer program continues its inaugural season in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) by facing Syracuse on Thursday at 7 p.m. CT inside Washburne Stadium.
• The match will be the Mustang's first conference match of the season and the first since the university joined the conference on July 1. The ACC will be the fifth conference the women's soccer program has played in.
• Thursday's promotion will be a commemorative coin giveaway. While supplies last, fans will receive a commemorative coin to remember the program's first-ever conference match as a member of the ACC.
• The ACC placed a nation-best six teams in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll, headlined by ACC teams holding five of the top 10 spots. The top three spots belong to ACC teams as Stanford remained at No. 1, Virginia climbed to No. 2 and Florida State stayed at No. 3. Duke jumped back into the poll at No. 8. SMU will face all four of those teams in a five-match stretch.
• The ACC improved to 88-19-12 (.790) against non-conference opponents. The 88 wins are the most victories among all conferences, 16 victories more than second place (Big Ten), and its .790 winning percentage in the highest in the country.
• This season will mark the 39th year of women's soccer on the Hilltop and the third under head coach Nicole Nelson. The Mustangs are 14-6-2 at home under Nelson.
• Thursday's match will be the first overall meeting between the two programs. It will also be SMU's eighth consecutive home match. The team is 4-3 during the stretch.
• A win for SMU would be the program's first win over an ACC school since the team beat Stanford 2-1 in 2004.

// HISTORIC OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION

• The Mustangs have had six players score at least two goals this season, tying last season's number of multi-goal scorers.
• Eliana Salama leads the team in goals scored with four, a career-season high. She ranks 10^th in the ACC in goals scored and 10^th in shots on goal per game (1.71).
• SMU has scored at least three goals in its first four matches, marking the first time since 2004 that the team has accomplished the feat.
• The Mustangs scored 17 goals through their first five games, which is tied for the fifth most goals scored in the first five games of a season in program history and the most since the team scored 20 to start the 2016 season.
• SMU has tallied 100 shot attempts in its first five matches and is one of only four ACC schools had 100 or more shots: Florida State-135 (4gm), North Carolina-126, Pitt-111, SMU-100.
• The Mustangs have recorded over 20 shots in three of their five matches this season. It is the first time since 2019 (7) SMU has had multiple matches with over 20 shots taken.

// DEFENSIVE PROWESS

• The Mustangs have allowed one or fewer goals in 35 of 44 games played under Head Coach Nicole Nelson. This season, SMU has achieved the feat in four of its seven matches.
• Since 2022, SMU has shut out 16 opponents, including back-to-back shutouts against Northwestern State (3-0) and Texas Southern (6-0) to begin this season. It marked the fifth time in program history that the Mustangs have not allowed a goal in the season's first two games.
• The Mustangs earned their third shutout of the season against Little Rock (2-0) and shut out three of its first five opponents for the first time since 2021.
• SMU only allowed five shots through the first two games. The Mustangs did not allow Texas Southern to record a single shot, outshooting the Tigers 26-0.
• SMU is 14-1 when they score first since the start of the 2023 season.

// RANKING THE MUSTANGS

• Sammy Nieves currently ranks 22^nd in the nation in game-winning goals (2) and fifth in the ACC.
• Eliana Salama ranks inside the top 10 in the ACC in four categories: Points Per Game (9^th, 1,43), Shots on Goal Per Game (10^th, 1.57), Total Goals (10^th, 4) and Total Points (10^th, 10).
• As a team, SMU ranks fourth in the conference in saves per game (3.43) and fifth in shot accuracy (47.4%)

// SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

•  Syracuse is led by head coach Nicky Thrasher Adams, who is in her sixth season at the helm of the Orange. She boasts a career record of 90-59-23 in 15 years of coaching and holds a record of 24-52-9 at Syracuse. She previously spent nine years coaching at Rice.
• Syracuse is 6-1-1 this season and 1-1-0 on the road. The Orange are on a two-match winning streak, shutting out both Binghamton (1-0) and St. Bonaventure (3-0) last time out.
• Last season, Syracuse was 2-14-2 and is looking for their first ACC win since 2022.

// ROSE AND CANADA ADAVANCE IN FIFA U-20 WORLD CUP

• SMU sophomore Nyah Rose and the rest of team Canada advanced to the round of 16 in the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup on Sunday.
• Canada finished third in Group B (1-1-1), earning four points to advance to the knockout stage for the first time in the tournament since 2014.
• Canada is set to face Spain in the round of 16 on Wednesday, Sept. 11. The winner of the match will take on either Japan or Nigeria in the quarterfinals on Sept. 15.
• Rose has shined on the international stage. She scored Canada's first tournament goal in the fourth minute against France in a 3-3 draw and recorded seven shots on goal in the team's 9-0 defeat of Fiji.  Rose started in two of the team's three group play matches (France and Brazil).

// WORKHORSES

• Five Mustangs have started all seven matches this season (Salama, Nieves, King, Cota-Yarde, and Ungashick), and 12 players have appeared in every match.
• Six non-GK Mustangs have played the full 90 minutes in at least one match this season. Sophie King leads the team in minutes played with 547. Hali Hartman has played the full 90 in the past four matches. Including GK Seirra Cota-Yarde, five Mustangs played the full 90 against TCU, the most in any match this season.
• Hali Hartman- 4x, vs SFA (8/25), Little Rock (8/29), TCU (9/1), Baylor (9/5)
• Sophie King- 3x, vs Texas (8/22), SFA (8/25), TCU (9/1)
• Abby Hampton- 2x vs SFA (8/25), Little Rock (8/29),
• Mackenzie Rudden- 2x vs TCU (9/1), Baylor (9/5)
• Lydia Ungashick- 2x vs TCU (9/1), Baylor (9/5)
• Mayu Inokawa- 1x vs NWSU

// FRESHMEN CAME TO PLAY

• Freshman Liz Eddy found the back of the net for the third time this season against Little Rock and is tied for second on the team in goals scored and tied for first in total shots with 22.
• Both freshmen Kelly Gordon and Eddy have already scored twice this season. Gordon scored her second career goal against SFA, marking the first time since 2018 that SMU had at least two freshmen score multiple goals. (Sebasco-6 / Celiana Torres-7)
• In total, three freshmen have scored a goal this season as Sadie Paul scored her first career goal against Texas Southern.
• Lydia Ungashick is the only freshman to start all seven matches this season. She is second on the team in minutes played with 539. She has played over 70 minutes in six of the team's seven matches, including the full 90 against TCU and Baylor.

// LAST TIME OUT

• SMU has dropped its last two matches against TCU and Baylor.  The Mustangs had to wait out a three hour long weather delay before kicking off against TCU at 11:59 pm. SMU fell to the Horned Frogs 1-0.
• Against Baylor, the Mustangs held a 1-0 lead at the half thanks to Eliana Salama scoring her fourth goal of the season. SMU was unable to hold the lead as Baylor scored two goals in the second and won 2-1.

// WINNING AT WASHBURNE

• SMU holds an impressive 22-7-3 record at home since the 2021 season, including four conference wins.
• 14 of SMU's home wins in that stretch have been shutouts.
• The Mustangs defeated NSU 3-0 inside Washburne Stadium 2024 season opener. 
• Five of the Mustangs' home wins since 2021 have come against Big 12 and SEC opponents.
  • 9/09/21   (RV) Oklahoma State (1-0)
  • 9/19/21    Oklahoma  (1-0)
  • 9/18/22    Baylor (1-0)
  • 8/25/23    No. 25 Tennessee (2-1)
  • 9/10/23    Oklahoma State (1-0)