Box Score | Tournament Page
 
STANFORD, Calif. (SMU) — SMU Men's Soccer won 1-0 at No. 7 Stanford to advance to the semifinal round of the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship on Sunday.
 
In a tense back-and-forth, SMU capitalized on Stephan Soghomonian's goal from the penalty spot to grab the win and advance in the tournament. The goal was Soghomonian's 11^th goal of the season and 10th goal in eight matches.
 
Martin Dominguez doubled his career high with 10 saves through the evening, after facing a season-high of 11 shots on goal. Dominguez became the first Mustang to make 10 or more saves in a single match since Cole Johnson against UCF (10) on Oct. 16, 2021.
 
The Mustangs will make their ACC Championship semifinals debut and have another regular-season rematch against No. 6 seed Syracuse in Cary, N.C., on Thursday.
 
How It Happened
In a cagey start of the match, where both teams tried to break through their opponents' defensive line, SMU recorded three shots in the first 20 minutes of the match.
 
SMU and Stanford each had its own spells of possession, but neither team produced clear-cut chances. The Mustangs' biggest chance came from Milton Lopez in the final minute of the period, who blasted a strong shot from top of the penalty box, but his effort was parried away.
 
The first half ended scoreless.
 
The game remained tight at the start of the second half, with Stanford with the slight edge, forcing four saves out of Martin Dominguez. He made a double save in the 58^th minute.
 
Mukisa Emmanuel flipped the script by winning a penalty kick in the 60^th minute of the match.
 
Stephan Soghomonian stepped up to take the penalty kick and rattled the net with a shot to the left bottom corner to take the lead.
 
Dominguez made three more saves following the goal as the Mustangs stood tall to defend their one-goal lead.
 
Slade Starnes and Villads Landsperg fended off multiple of the Cardinal's aerial attacks, and the Mustangs saw off the match with a 1-0 victory.
 
Other Notes

• The Mustangs grabbed their first win at Stanford since 2000. Improving their record to 4-6-3 against the Cardinal.
• SMU handed Stanford its first loss at home this season.
• Martin Dominguez recorded a career high of 10 saves, doubling his previous career high of five.
• Dominguez made his fourth clean sheet of the season and ninth in his career.
• Stephan Soghomonian scored his 11^th goal of the season, his ninth goal in seven games.
• The last time SMU defeated a higher-seed team in a conference tournament was against top-seeded UCF to win the American Athletic Conference Championship in 2019.
• The last time SMU defeated a higher seed in a tournament was No. 5 seed Dayton in the NCAA Championship last season.

What's Next?
SMU will face No. 6 seed Syracuse in the ACC Championship semifinals match in Cary, N.C., at 7 pm on Thursday.