DALLAS - The SMU men's soccer team is set to start a new season, its second in the ACC, with some familiar faces and plenty of new ones trying to build off last year.

The Mustangs reached the Elite Eight for the 14th time in program history and the first since 2019. They return 17 players and add 13 new ones — eight transfers and five freshmen — coming off a 4-2-2 campaign in the ACC, tying for fourth in their first year in the conference.

"It's a nice blend of experience from last year, plus transfers who have had plenty of experience in other places," SMU Head Coach Kevin Hudson said. "It's a very different team for us from last December versus this August. We're very different. A lot of new pieces, but some exciting talent to mold and see what we can become."

SMU doesn't ease into the season with that new group either. The Mustangs will host No. 18 UMKC, coming off a third-round postseason run, on Thursday and then travel to Saint Louis, which has plenty of its own history.

The Roos, who beat SLU in the first round of last year's NCAA tournament, return their No. 1 and No. 3 goal-scorers from a year ago, who combined for 20 goals. They also bring back their goalkeeper, who started 21 of 22 games with five shutouts.

"It's a good opponent. They were in the Sweet 16 last year," Hudson said. "They will test us in many ways. They return a lot of pieces. From what we've seen from last year's footage, it's a very good team that will ask a lot of questions of us."

For Mustangs, Milton Lopez is their top returning goal scorer with six goals, tying for second on last year's team. Returning 6-foot-4 defender Owen Zarnick had four goals last season.

Even though SMU lost its goal-scoring power from last season, the offense has the potential to be even better this season.

"We have significantly more strikers on the roster this year than we did last year," Hudson said. "I think we're probably a bigger goal threat this year than we were last year. If we can defend well as a group, I think we'll find a way to create chances to score."

Alex Salvo had a good offseason, and while what he does might not show up on the stat sheet, he plays a big role in what the Mustangs are able to do. He will be joined by transfer Charles-Emile Brunet, who Hudson compared to Bailey Sparks in the way he can create with the ball at his feet.

Then there is Jaylinn Mitchell, who scored three goals and had two assists last year and also had a productive offseason. But the biggest key to offensive success for SMU this season is depth.

"We have, right now, four strikers who can do it," Hudson said. "Two of those were on the roster last year in Milton and Stephan (Soghomonian). But then you have two transfers in Mukisa (Emmanuel) and Luis (Flores), who have been wonderful additions so far."

The Mustangs are also filling a big hole on the back line with Cesar Ruvalcaba now suiting up regularly for the Columbus Crew. Zarnick has had a good offseason and will be joined by two new pieces and another who will make his SMU debut this season.

"Cesar was the leader of the team on an emotional, intellectual and psychological level too, so his maturity was extremely valuable," Hudson said. "We've added two transfers in the back line in Slade Starnes and Villads Landsperg, both of whom have played two and three years of college games at their other schools. And then Mason Grimm is healthy again, which is nice. He didn't play at all last year, but a very good player. We lost a bit on the back line, but I feel that we have replaced that."

Then it is all about coming together to compete from the first game to the last. 

After tough games against UMKC and Saint Louis, SMU is set to host LMU (Aug. 28) and Oral Roberts (Aug. 31) before going to GCU on Sep. 4. 

"It's a monster of a start for us. So, we've just got to take it, as cliché as it is, one step at a time," Hudson said. "We'll deal with UMKC, and then on Thursday night, we'll turn our attention to Saint Louis and prepare these guys the best we can. We're confident in the group, but we'll remain hungry and humble in our approach."

When conference play begins on Sep. 13, it is preseason ACC favorite Clemson coming to Washburne Soccer and Track Stadium, and it finishes at Stanford and at home against Virginia — both ranked going into the season — at the end of October.

"To step into the ACC, go 4-2-2, finish fourth in the league, and beat some really good teams in that run is a nice testament to what the program is and what we can be," Hudson said. "Those results give us confidence, but they're not an indicator of future success. College soccer is an interesting beast. We could be 2-6 in the ACC, or we could be 6-2, or we could be 0-8 or 8-0. It's just a wild challenge."