DALLAS (SMU) – The SMU women's soccer program is set for a showdown in the Steel City as the team faces Pitt on Thursday in Pittsburgh.

The match will kick off at 6 p.m. CT and will be aired on ACCNX. Fans can also follow the game via live stats found here. 

 SMU will look to bounce back after a 1-0 loss to NC State at home last time out. Despite the loss the Mustangs have been stellar at home this season with a record of 5-1-0 outscoring opponents 11-2 in Washburne.

The Mustangs ended the non-conference portion of their schedule with a record of 6-2-0 and four shutout victories.

SMU has recorded 159 shots and scored 16 goals this season, which rank seventh and 12th in the ACC, respectively. 

The Mustangs rank 11th in the nation in corner kicks per game at 7.3 and have totaled 73, the third 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 24th in the NCAA and eighth in the ACC in total assists.

Liz Eddy leads SMU in total shots with 28 and ranks ninth in the ACC in shots per game with 3.11.  Nyah Rose has taken 25 shots with a team high of 13 on goal.  

SMU enters the game with an RPI ranking of 88. Fourteen of the 17 ACC teams are ranked inside the top 100.  Pitt enters the game with an RPI of 60.

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.

In the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll, seven ACC teams landed in the top 25, tied for the most of any conference. ACC teams claimed the top three spots with Virginia (No. 1), Notre Dame (No.2) and Stanford (No. 3) leading the way. Florida State (No. 6) and Duke (No. 9) round out the five teams in the top 10 followed by Wake Forest (No.19) and North Carolina (No.22). Both Louisville and California received 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 9-11-6 on the road under Nelson.

// THE MATCH UP

• Thursday's match will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
• SMU is looking for its first ACC win this season after drawing Syracuse 1-1 in the team's ACC opener and falling to NC State last time out.

// SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

• Pitt is led by head coach Ben Waldrum, who is in his first season at the helm of the Panthers and boasts a record of 5-4-2.  Pitt is Waldrum's first career head coaching stop.    
• Pitt holds an RPI ranking of 60 and is coming off a 2-1 win at Boston College. Pitt is 2-4-2 at home this season.

// SENIOR DAY SHUTOUT

• 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 159 to 100 and outscoring them 16-10
• The Mustangs have only allowed one goal at home this year.

// WINNING AT WASHBURNE

• SMU holds an impressive 29-10-4 record at home since the 2021 season and is 21-9-3 under  Nelson.
• SMU is 5-1-0 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 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 126-37 in six 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, 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 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 24th in the NCAA in total assists and 46th in assists per game with 0.50.
• 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 17.
• 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