Women's Soccer Set For Road Match Against Cal | Thursday 2 pm CT

SMU (5-6-4, 0-5-2 ACC) at Cal (4-5-5, 1-3-2 ACC)
Thursday, Oct. 22 • 2 p.m. CT
Edwards Stadium • Berkeley, Calif. • ACCNX
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DALLAS (SMU) – The SMU women's soccer program travels to the Bay Area this week to face Cal on Thursday, Oct. 22 inside Edwards Stadium. The match kicks off at 2 pm CT and airs on ACCNX.

SMU will look to bounce back after dropping its last two games. Prior to falling to Virginia and Duke, SMU went unbeaten in its first nine home matches of the season. The team went 5-0-4, the longest home unbeaten streak in a single season since 2003 (9-0-0).

Brooke Bunton leads SMU with seven goals, which includes a three-goal performance against Idaho State, the first hat trick by a Mustang since 2023. She ranks tied for sixth in the ACC in total goals scored. Bunton also leads SMU in points with 15 and in shots with 40 (11^th in the ACC).

Freshman Julianne Richter has proved to be one of the best in the nation at generating offense as she is tied for fifth in the ACC in assists with six. Richter was named ACC Freshman of the Week (9/8) after tallying two goals and two assists in games against Texas Tech and Idaho State.

Kaylee Noble scored her 18^th career goal against Virginia and is now second on the team in goals this season with four. Noble has also recorded three assists this season and is fourth in the ACC in shot accuracy (.568). She also leads the team in shots on goal with 21 and in shots on goal per game (1.40), which is ninth in the ACC.

Goalkeeper Aubrey Brown has led SMU to five solo shutouts and one combined shutout this season. Her five solo shutouts rank tied for second in the ACC. The team has recorded back-to-back home shutouts twice this year.

Brown was named ACC Goalkeeper / TopDrawerSoccer Goalkeeper (9/29) of the Week for her play against No. 6 Stanford. The senior finished the match with a season-high nine saves. Her nine saves are tied for the most by an ACC goalkeeper this season. Six of her nine saves came in the second half to help preserve the shutout.

The Mustangs finished the non-conference portion of their schedule with a record of 5-1-2 and recorded five shutouts while outscoring their opponents 23-6.

The Mustangs added 17 newcomers to their 2026 roster, 10 freshmen and seven transfers. Head coach Nicole Nelson also brought in two new assistant coaches, Chassion Griggs and former SMU graduate assistant and men's soccer player Nick Petrucelli.

// FRESHMAN STANDOUTS

Freshmen Julianne Richter, Londynn Hagan, and Kamiya Beck have been shining bright for the Mustangs.
Richter was named ACC Freshman of the Week (9/8) after stepping up big against Texas Tech, scoring the game-tying goal in the 74^th. Against ISU, she recorded her second multi-assist game of the season and scored her second goal of the year as the Mustangs closed out non-conference play with a dominant home victory.
Richter is tied for fifth in the ACC in total assists with six. She is third on the team in total points with 10.
Hagan is second on the team in goals with four. She has also tallied one assist this season and is fourth on the team in points with nine.
Beck has done a little of everything for SMU this season, scoring two goals and tallying three assists. She has now scored in back-to-back games against Boston College and Virginia Tech and had one assist against Virginia.

// SETTING THE SCENE

Sunday's match will be the seventh time SMU and Cal have played each other. Cal leads the series 5-1. The Mustangs defeated Cal in Washburne last year 2-1.
The Mustangs rank eighth in the ACC in goals (29), seventh in the ACC in assists (27) and fourth in the ACC in saves per game (3.80).
SMU enters the match ranked 47^th in the latest RPI rankings while Cal is ranked 76^th.
On Wednesday, Oct. 1, SMU was ranked 38^th, the highest RPI ranking for the Mustangs since the final RPI ranking of the 2021 season (23). The ACC is the only conference with all members ranked in the top 100.

// OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER

SMU has outscored its opponents 29-26 this season. SMU's 29 goals are the most in a single season since 2024 (32).
The Mustangs' 6-0 victory over Idaho State matched the team's highest goal total in a game under Nelson. It was the third time in her tenure as head coach that SMU has achieved the feat (6-0 vs Texas Southern 8/18/24, 6-3 at Rice 9/14/23).
Six Mustangs have scored multiple goals this season, while Brooke Bunton leads the team with two multi-goal games.

// WINNING AT WASHBURNE

The Mustangs started the season on a nine-match home unbeaten streak (5-0-4), the longest home unbeaten streak in a single season since 2003 (9-0-0).
SMU's 20 goals scored in its first seven home games were the most scored since 2016 (30).
SMU holds an impressive 35-13-9 record at home since the 2021 season and is 28-12-7 under Nelson.
SMU is 5-2-4 at home this season and has outscored opponents 22-13 in Washburne.
In total, 22 of SMU's home wins since 2021 have been shutouts.

// IN THE RANKINGS

SMU received votes in the Week 1 IWSOC / United Soccer Coaches Poll. It was the first time the Mustangs had been ranked or received votes in the poll since 2022. (No. 24, Sept. 29, 2022).
In the latest IWSOC / United Soccer Coaches Poll, the ACC had eight teams ranked or receiving votes. North Carolina led the way, ranked No. 2 in the nation, followed by No. 4 Wake Forest, No. 6 Duke, No. 7 Stanford, No. 13 Louisville, No. 14 Florida State, No. 17 Notre Dame, and No. 21 Virginia.
The Mustangs were picked to finish 14th overall in the ACC preseason poll. SMU finished last season ranked 12th in the conference.
SMU will face six teams that were ranked in the IWSOC / United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll: No. 1 Stanford, No. 3 Duke, No.5 Vanderbilt, No. 8 North Carolina, No. 11 Virginia, and No. 23 Texas Tech.

// LOCK DOWN DEFENSE

The Mustangs have allowed one or fewer goals in 57 of 87 games played under Head Coach Nicole Nelson. SMU achieved the feat in eight of its 15 games this season.
SMU has recorded six shutouts this season, including back-to-back shutouts twice. The Mustangs' six home shutouts are the most in a single season since 2021 (7). SMU has now recorded six shutouts in four of its five seasons under Nicole Nelson.
SMU recorded back-to-back shutouts against UNT and Boise State, and it is the second time under Nelson that the Mustangs didn't allow a goal in the team's first two home games.
SMU has now shut out 29 opponents under Nelson after the team's shutout draw against No. 6 Stanford.

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Players Mentioned

Kamiya Beck

Aubrey Brown

Brooke Bunton

Londynn Hagan

Kaylee Noble

Julianne Richter

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