DALLAS (SMU) – The SMU women's soccer program heads back out on the road for a showdown with Texas Tech on Thursday in Lubbock, Texas.

The match will kick off at 7 p.m. CT and will be aired on ESPN+. SMU enters the game on a three-game winning streak, which includes two home shutouts.

Through four games, SMU has recorded 67 shots, the fifth most in the ACC. The team has scored eight goals this season, which ranks seventh in the conference. The Mustangs also rank ninth in the nation in corner kick per game at 8.75 and have totaled 35, second most in the ACC this season.

Lindasy Nicholson and Nicole Stryker lead SMU in goals scored this season with two each. Sammy Nieves leads the team in assists with three. Nicholson leads SMU in total shots with 11, while Nyah Rose has taken 10 shots with a team high of six on goal.  

Nieves is currently tied for second in the ACC in total assists. Aubrey Brown ranks seventh in the conference in total saves with eight.
 

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 in Daniel O'Hare and Callie McKinney.


In the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll, eight ACC teams landed in the top 25, the most of any conference. ACC teams claimed the top three spots with Stanford (No.1), Duke (No.3), Florida State (No. t-6) and Notre Dame (No. t-6) leading the way.  Virginia (No. t-13) rounded out the five teams in the top-15, followed by Wake Forest (No.19), North Carolina (No.22) and Virginia Tech (No.24).

In the ACC Preseason Coaches Poll, the Mustangs were picked to finish 12th overall. The top-10 teams in the poll all were ranked or received votes in the United Soccer Coaches 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 9-10-5 on the road under Nelson. 

// THE MATCH UP

• A rivalry renewed, Thursday's match up will be the seventh time SMU and Texas Tech have faced each other and the first since 2007.
• SMU has never lost to Texas Tech and leads the series 5-0-1 and is 2-0-0 when the game is played in Lubbock.
• The Mustangs have outscored Texas Tech 14-2 in the previous five matchups. Last time the two teams met, the match ended in a 0-0 double overtime draw.

// SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

• Texas Tech is led by head coach Tom Stone, who is in his 19th season at the helm of the Red Raiders and boasts a record of 213-107-50. Stone has spent his entire head coaching career at Texas Tech.
• Texas Tech is 3-1-0 this season and is 1-0-0 at home. The team has been ranked as high as 18^th in the United Soccer Coaches poll this season and is coming off a 2-0 loss on the road to San Francisco.
• Last season Texas Tech finished the year with a record of 15-5-2 and advanced the second round of the NCAA Tournament before losing to Duke.

// LAST TIME OUT

• The Mustangs picked up their second shutout of the season, defeating Southern 2-0.
• SMU has yet to concede a goal at home this season. The Mustangs shutout NSU in the home opener 2-0.
• SMU rattled off 27 shots and was in complete control the entire game. It was the second time this season the Mustangs have recorded 27 shots in a game.
• Captain Lydia Ungashick broke the scoreless tie in the 30th minute, scoring her first career goal on a feed from Zoe Parkhurst.
• SMU continued to force the action offensively and in the final seconds of the half, Parkhurst netted her first goal as a Mustang, extending the lead to 2-0.
• Making her first career start in net for the Mustangs, Haven Empey-Taylor earned her first career solo win.

// 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.

// LOCK DOWN DEFENSE

• The Mustangs have allowed one or fewer goals in 41 of 58 games played under Head Coach Nicole Nelson. SMU achieved the feat in nine of its 17 match's last season.
• Since 2022, SMU has shut out 19 opponents.
• The Mustangs shut out both Northwestern State and Southern 2-0 in the team's first two home games of the season.

// WINNING AT WASHBURNE

• SMU holds an impressive 26-9-4 record at home since the 2021 season and is 18-8-3 under Nicole Nelson. The Mustangs were 6-5-1 inside Washburne Stadium last season.
• Seventeen of SMU's home wins in that stretch have been shutouts.
• In the team's first two home games, SMU rattled off 27 shots in each and won both games 2-0.

// RECORD BOOK ROSE

• Prior to the start of the season, Nyah Rose was ranked 48^th in TopDrawerSoccer's top-100 players list.
• Rose scored her first goal of the season and the game winning goal against UNT.
• 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. 
• Rose has now scored 17 goals in her SMU career. She currently ranks 10th all-time in goals per game in program history (0.53). 

// FRESHMAN STANDOUT

• Freshman Lindasy Nicholson leads the team in goals scored with two and in total shots with 11. 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.