DALLAS (SMU) – The SMU women's soccer program is back in Washburne Stadium on Sunday for a showdown with (RV) California.  

The match will kick off at 1 p.m. CT and will be aired on ACCN. Fans can enjoy free admission to all regular-season SMU women's soccer home games.

Sunday's match is Alumni Day.  Alumni will be recognized during halftime to celebrate the 40^th season in program history.  

The Mustangs are coming off a 0-0 draw versus Miami, the team's sixth shutout of the season. SMU is 5-1-1 at home this season and is outscoring its opponents 11-2. The Mustangs have not conceded a goal in their last two matches, as the team defeated Pitt 4-0 on the road prior to facing Miami.

SMU has recorded 184 shots and scored 20 goals this season, which ranks sixth and 10th in the ACC, respectively.  

The Mustangs rank 17th in the nation in corner kicks per game at 6.92 and have totaled 83, the second most in the ACC this season.

Nyah Rose leads SMU in goals scored with four after recording a brace against Pitt. Rose has scored 20 goals in her career.  

Twelve different Mustangs have scored a goal this season, while Rose and Nicole Stryker each have a brace this season.  

Sammy Nieves leads the team with five assists and is currently tied for 41st in the NCAA and 10th in the ACC in total assists.

Liz Eddy leads SMU in total shots with 34, 10th in the ACC, and in shots per game at 3.20, 10th in the ACC.  Nyah Rose has taken 29 shots with a team high of 15 on goal.
 
The Mustangs ended the non-conference portion of their schedule with a record of 6-2-0 and four shutout victories.

The Mustangs added nine newcomers to their 2025 roster, five freshmen and four transfers. Head coach Nicole Nelson also brought in two new assistant coaches, Daniel O'Hare and Callie McKinney.

SMU enters the game with an RPI ranking of 70. Fourteen of the 17 ACC teams are ranked inside the top 100, and eight are inside the top 20.  Cal enters the game with an RPI of 47.

A nation-best eight ACC teams are ranked in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll, including the top three spots: Virginia (No. 1), Notre Dame (No. 2), Stanford (No. 3), Florida State (No. 6), Wake Forest (No. 12), Duke (No. 14), North Carolina (No. 19) and Louisville (No. 23). California is currently receiving votes.

In the ACC Preseason Coaches Poll, the Mustangs were picked to finish 12th overall. The top-10 teams in the poll were all ranked or received votes in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll.

This season will mark the 40th year of women's soccer on the Hilltop and the fourth under head coach Nicole Nelson. The Mustangs are 21-9-4 at home under Nelson.

// THE MATCH UP

• Sunday's match will be the sixth overall meeting between the two programs. Cal leads the series 5-0-0. Sunday will be the first time the two teams have played in Dallas.
• Last season, SMU played Cal on the road in its season finale. The Mustangs fell 3-2.
• SMU has already surpassed last season's win total with seven this year.  
• SMU is 1-1-2 in ACC play this season and is currently eighth in the conference with five points.

// SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

• California is led by head coach Neil McGuire, who is in his 19th season at the helm of the Golden Bears and boasts a record of 204-118-55.  McGuire holds a career record of 248-187-62 in 25 seasons at Cal, Mississippi State and Texas Tech.
• California enters the match receiving votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll and with an RPI ranking of 47. The Golden Bears are 6-1-6 this season and 2-0-2 in conference play. Cal is 2-0-4 on the road this season and is unbeaten in their last nine matches.   
• Cal's goalkeeper, Teagan Wy, was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week for her play last week.

// AN OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION

• Highlighted by Nyah Rose's brace, the SMU women's soccer program had an offensive explosion, shutting out Pitt 4-0.
• SMU scored four second-half goals in the span of 17 minutes to earn its first ACC win of the season.
• Rose recorded her fourth multi-goal game of her career, while Paxton Bock had her first career multi-assist game with two.
• The four goals scored by the Mustangs are the most goals scored in a road ACC game by SMU since it joined the conference. It also marked the second time SMU has scored four goals this season (4-3 W at North Texas).
• The last time SMU shut out an opponent on the road was a 2-0 shutout at FAU on Oct. 12, 2023.

 // LOCK DOWN DEFENSE

• The Mustangs have allowed one or fewer goals in 47 of 65 games played under Head Coach Nicole Nelson. SMU achieved the feat in nine of its 12 games this season.
• SMU has recorded six shutouts this season, the most since 2023. SMU has only allowed two goals in its last six games and is outscoring opponents 9-2.
• Since 2022, SMU has shut out 23 opponents under Nelson. This season, SMU has recorded six shutouts and is outshooting teams 184 to 121 and outscoring them 20-10

// WINNING AT WASHBURNE

• SMU holds an impressive 29-10-5 record at home since the 2021 season and is 21-9-4 under Nelson.
• SMU is 5-1-1 at home this year and is outscoring opponents 11-2 inside Washburne. Four of the team's home victories have been shutouts.  The last time SMU started a season 5-0-0 at home marked the first time since 2018 the team achieved the feat.
• Seventeen of SMU's home wins in that stretch have been shutouts.
• In the team's first three home games, SMU rattled off 27 shots in each.
• SMU is outshooting opponents 139-45 in seven home games this season.  

// RECORD BOOK ROSE

• Nyah Rose has been SMU's top goal scorer over the last couple of seasons and was ranked 48^th in TopDrawerSoccer's top-100 players list at the start of the season.
• This season, she leads the team in goals scored with four. She ranks 21st in the nation and second in the ACC in game-winning goals with three.
• Rose recorded her first brace of the season against Pitt, leading the team to a 4-0 victory. She has now recorded four multi-goal games and has totaled 20 goals in her SMU career.
• Rose scored her first goal of the season and the game-winning goal against UNT.
• Rose found the back of the net once again in the team's 3-0 victory over HCU.
• Rose is coming off another standout season for the Mustangs. Rose was a 2024 Hermann Trophy Watch List honoree and was named Third Team All-ACC for her play last season.
• Rose was second on the team with five goals in only 11 games played last season. Rose scored the team's only goal in a 1-1 draw versus the 2024 ACC tournament champions, Florida State.  Three of her five goals occurred during ACC play.
• As a freshman, she was named First-Team All-South Region, All-AAC First Team, Co-Rookie of the Year and was named to the AAC All-Rookie Team and AAC Championship All-Tournament Team. She led AAC in goals scored with 11. 

// A PREMIERE PLAYMAKER

• Sammy Nieves has been SMU's player maker this season, leading the team with five assists. She currently ranks 41st in the NCAA in total assists. Nieves is tied for the team lead in points with nine.
• Nieves had three assists against North Texas and is the first Mustang to record three assists in a game since Hannah Fleet had three against Abilene Christian on Sept. 11, 2016.
• She recorded her second multi-assist game of the season with two against HCU.
• The senior has recorded 15 assists in her career.  

// LEADING BY EXAMPLE

• Captain Lydia Ungashick has been leading by example all season long, as she is second on the team in goals scored with three. She also has one assist and is third on the team in total points (7)
• She scored SMU's first ACC goal of the year against Syracuse.

// FRESHMAN STANDOUT

• Freshman Lindsay Nicholson is third on the team in goals scored with two and in total shots with 18.
• She scored in back-to-back games against NSU and UNT, becoming the first freshman to achieve this feat since Nyah Rose did so multiple times in 2023. 

//HORSEPOWER

• Sydney Japic, Claire Jones, Hali Hartman and Maura Yumul have started in all 12 matches this season, while 10 total Mustangs have appeared in every game.
• Hartman and Japic lead SMU in minutes played, with over 1,000 apiece, and have both played the full 90 in every match except one this season.
• Hartman, who led SMU in minutes last season with 1,438, played the full 90 in 24 of the last 25 games dating back to last season and leads the team with 1,078 minutes played.
• Japic, who transferred to SMU this season, is second on the team in minutes played with 1,056.
• Twenty-four different Mustangs have made an appearance in the game this season. 

// A NEW YEAR A NEW CHALLENGE

• Entering their second season in the ACC, the Mustangs' 18-game schedule will feature eight non-conference games and 10 conference games. SMU will face six teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season, including three teams that made the College Cup.
• SMU is scheduled to face seven teams this season that were ranked or received votes in the 2025 United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll.
• SMU began the 2025 season on the road for the first time since 2019.

//HORSEPOWER

• Sydney Japic, Claire Jones, Hali Hartman and Maura Yumul have started in all 12 matches this season, while 10 total Mustangs have appeared in every game.
• Hartman and Japic lead SMU in minutes played, with over 1,000 apiece, and have both played the full 90 in every match except one this season.
• Hartman, who led SMU in minutes last season with 1,438, played the full 90 in 24 of the last 25 games dating back to last season and leads the team with 1,078 minutes played.
• Japic, who transferred to SMU this season, is second on the team in minutes played with 1,056.
• Twenty-four different Mustangs have made an appearance in the game this season.