DALLAS (SMU) – SMU Men's Soccer will travel to Phoenix, Arizona, to take on GCU in its second road match of the season on Thursday.
The match will kick off at 9 pm CT at GCU Stadium and will be aired on ESPN+.
The Mustangs are coming off two wins at home against LMU (3-1) and Oral Roberts (2-1), where they held down both opponents to less than five shots in each match.
Mustangs vs. Lopes History
- This match will be the second meeting between the Mustangs and the Lopes.
- The two teams have only met in Dallas.
- The two teams' only meeting was in 2023 when they drew 1-1 at Washburne Stadium in Dallas.
- In 2023, SMU's then top-scorer Jelldrik Dallmann scored in the 80th minute to tie the game.
SMU's Lockdown Defense
- SMU has only allowed five shot attempts in the last 180 minutes.
- The Mustangs locked down Oral Roberts to only two shots on Aug. 31, not allowing a single shot attempt until the 68th minute of the match.
- SMU only allowed three shot attempts in its match against LMU.
The 2025 Squad
- SMU's 2025 squad consists of 17 returners and 13 newcomers.
- Hudson's 13 newcomers include eight transfers and five freshmen.
- Among the transfers is senior 2024 All-Southern Conference Defender Slade Starnes.
Mustangs' Career-Firsts
SMU vs ORU Notes
- SMU remained undefeated against Oral Roberts with a 12-0-1 record.
- Mukisa Emmanuel scored his first goal for SMU.
- With his two goals, Emmanuel became the first Mustang to score a brace after Milton Lopez in the NCAA Championship Quarterfinals against Marshall last season.
- Daniel Escorcia has made two assists in two matches since he returned last Thursday.
- The last time SMU held an opponent to only two shots was Air Force in the 2024 season opener.
FIFA World Cup at Washburne Stadium
- Washburne Stadium will be an official training ground for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Preseason Awards and Rankings
- SMU was ranked No. 5 in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll.
- Also ranked No. 5 in the ACC Preseason Poll. Tied with Stanford.
- SMU was ranked No. 7 in the Top Drawer Soccer Preseason National Ranking.
- Jaylinn Mitchell was included in the ACC Preseason Player to Watch List.
- Owen Zarnick was ranked No. 47 and Alex Salvo was No. 74 in the Top Drawer Soccer Top 100 Players Rankings.
SMU vs Top-25 Opponents
- SMU drew No. 18 Kansas City 2-2 to kick off the season.
- SMU was 4-3-3 against top 25 opponents last season after falling in the NCAA Quarterfinals to No. 8 Marshall.
- SMU faced 10 top-25 opponents last season. This was the largest number of ranked opponents the Mustangs have faced in a single season under Kevin Hudson.
- No. 5 Dayton was the highest-ranked win for the Mustangs last season.
- No. 5 Stanford, who they drew against, was the highest-seeded team that the Mustangs went against in the regular season.
- Last season, SMU had wins over fifth-ranked Dayton, No. 6 Saint Louis, No. 13 Virginia Tech, and No. 19 Washington, a draw against No.5 Stanford, ninth-ranked Denver, and No. 18 Duke.
- The Mustangs had the most top-25 matches in the ACC last season.
NCAA Tournament, By The Numbers
- Overall program history: 36 NCAA Tournament Appearances, 26 Sweet Sixteen Appearances, 14 Elite Eight Appearances, two College Cup appearances (2000 & 2005)
- SMU made its seventh NCAA Tournament, fifth Sweet Sixteen and second Elite Eight appearances under Kevin Hudson last season.
