DALLAS (SMU) – The SMU women's soccer program is back inside Washburne Stadium on Thursday, hosting NC State in the team's ACC home opener.  

The match will kick off at 6 p.m. CT and will be aired on ACCNX. Fans can enjoy free admission to all regular-season SMU women's soccer home games.

Thursday's match will feature SMU Foam Cowboy Hats as the main giveaway along with SMU posters, schedule cards and prize wheel items, as well as a post-game autograph session.

The Mustangs enter having won six of their last eight matchups and are undefeated in Washburne this season (5-0-0), outscoring opponents 11-1. The last time SMU won five consecutive home games in a single season was during the 2018 season. The Mustangs ended the non-conference portion of their schedule with a record of 6-2-0 and four shutout victories.

SMU has recorded 146 shots and scored 16 goals this season, which rank fifth and 12th in the ACC, respectively.  

The Mustangs rank 15th in the nation in corner kicks per game at 7.22 and have totaled 65, the second most in the ACC this season.

Lydia Ungashick leads SMU in goals scored with three after she scored in back-to-back games against Syracuse and Sam Houston. Eleven different Mustangs have scored a goal this season.

Sammy Nieves leads the team with five assists and is currently tied for 14th in the NCAA and fifth in the ACC in total assists.

Liz Eddy leads SMU in total shots with 27 and ranks ninth in the ACC in shots per game with 3.57.  Nyah Rose has taken 20 shots with a team high of 11 on goal.  

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 48. Fourteen of the 17 ACC teams are ranked inside the top 100.  

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 20-8-3 at home under Nelson.

// THE MATCH UP

• Thursday's match will be the seventh all-time meeting between SMU and NC State and the first in 30 years.
• NC State leads the series 4-2, but SMU holds the advantage at home 1-0. Last time the teams played  was during the 1995 NCAA tournament quarterfinals as SMU defeated NC State 4-3 on their way to the team's first-ever College Cup appearance. The win was SMU's 23rd victory that season.
• If the Mustangs win, it will mark the first time the team has won six consecutive home games to start a season since going 8-0-0 at home in 2001. The last time SMU won six home games in a row in a single season was in 2006. SMU was 6-4-1 in Washburn last season.

// SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

• NC State is led by head coach Gary Higgins, who is in his first season at the helm of the Wolfpack and boasts a record of 1-6-2.  Higgins holds a career record of 111-54-30 across 11 seasons at NC State, East Carolina and Lenoir-Rhyne.
• NC State is 1-6-2 (0-1-0 ACC) this season and is 0-3-2 on the road. The Wolfpack fell 2-1 to No.6 Notre Dame last time in the team's ACC opener.

// LAST TIME OUT

• SMU celebrated senior day with a 1-0 shutout win over Alcorn State.
• Goalkeeper Haven Empey-Taylor finished the game with a career high four saves on seven shots faced.
• Brooke Bunton scored the game's only goal in the 44^th minute. It was the freshman's first career goal.
• It was the Mustangs' fourth shutout of the season, tying last year's total.

 // LOCK DOWN DEFENSE

• The Mustangs have allowed one or fewer goals in 45 of 63 games played under Head Coach Nicole Nelson. SMU achieved the feat in six of its nine games this season.
• Since 2022, SMU has shut out 21 opponents under Nelson. This season, SMU has recorded four shutouts and is outshooting teams 146 to 90 and outscoring them 16-9
• The Mustangs have only allowed one goal at home this year.

// WINNING AT WASHBURNE

• SMU holds an impressive 29-9-4 record at home since the 2021 season and is 21-8-3 under  Nelson.
• SMU is undefeated at home this season (5-0-0) and is outscoring opponents 11-1 inside Washburne. Four of the team's home victories have been shutouts.
• The last time SMU started a season 5-0-0 at home was in 2018.
• 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 113-27 in five home games this season.  

// RECORD BOOK ROSE

• Nyah Rose has been SMU's top goal scorer over the last couple of seasons. This season, she is second on the team in goals scored with two. Rose has now scored 18 goals in her SMU career.
• Prior to the start of the season,  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 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. 
• Rose has now scored 18 goals in her SMU career.

// A PREMIERE PLAYMAKER

• Sammy Nieves has been SMU's player maker this season, leading the team with five assists. She currently ranks 14th in the NCAA in total assists and 53rd in assists per game with 0.63.
• 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.  

// FRESHMAN STANDOUT

• Freshman Lindsay Nicholson is tied for second on the team in goals scored with two and is third in total shots with 15.
• 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.