Mustangs Set For Road Match At No. 2 North Carolina

SMU (6-6-4, 1-5-2 ACC) at No. 2 North Carolina (13-2-0, 6-1-0 ACC)
Thursday, Oct. 29 • 6 p.m. CT
Play2Dream Legacy Stadium • Chapel Hill, N.C. • ACCNX
Watch • Live Stats • SMU Mobile App • Game Promotions • Media Center

DALLAS (SMU) – The SMU women's soccer program travels to the Tar Heel State this week to face No. 2 North Carolina on Thursday, Oct. 29 inside Play2Dream Legacy Stadium. The match kicks off at 6 pm CT and airs on ACCNX.

SMU got back in the win column after the team defeated Cal 3-1 on the road. The Mustangs earned their first ACC win of the season and will look to carry that momentum into Thursday's game.

Brooke Bunton leads SMU with nine goals and is coming off recording her third multi-goal game of the season, a brace in the win over Cal. She is one of four players in the ACC to have three or more multi-goal games this year.

Bunton had a three-goal game against Idaho State, the first hat trick by a Mustang since 2023. She ranks tied for fourth in the ACC in total goals scored, and is tied for the most goals scored by an underclassman in the ACC this year. Bunton also leads SMU in points with 19 and in shots with 46 (9^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 sixth 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 19^th career goal against Cal and is second on the team in goals this season with five. Noble has also recorded three assists this season and is third in the ACC in shot accuracy (.590). She also leads the team in shots on goal with 23 and in shots on goal per game (1.44), 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 sixth 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 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 12th time SMU and North Carolina have played each other.
No. 2 UNC will be SMU's fifth-ranked opponent of the season. The last time SMU defeated a ranked opponent was when the team beat No. 25 Tennessee 2-1 at home in 2023. A win over UNC would be the highest-ranked win in program history.
The last time SMU defeated a team ranked inside the top five was when the Mustangs defeated No. 4 Texas A&M in the first round of the 1997 NCAA Tournament.
The Mustangs rank sixth in the ACC in goals (32), assists (29), and saves per game (3.56).
SMU enters the match ranked 49^th in the latest RPI rankings while North Carolina is ranked first overall.
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.

// LAST TIME OUT

The SMU Women's Soccer program scored three second-half goals to defeat Cal 3-1 on the road Thursday.
Down 1-0 at the half, the Mustangs came out of the break ready to take control of the game and did just that as Kaylee Noble equalized the game and Brooke Bunton scored twice in a two-minute span to give SMU the lead and the victory over the Golden Bears.
SMU outshot Cal 13-7, 8-3 in the second half and held an 8-1 advantage on shots on goal. Bunton, who recorded her third multi-game of the season, led SMU in shots with six (4 on goal), while Maleeya Martin and Hali Hartman each tallied an assist in the game.
The win was SMU's second come-from-behind victory of the season. The Mustangs showed their grit coming out of the break trailing and scoring three unanswered goals to head back to Dallas with the win.

// OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER

SMU has outscored its opponents 32-27 this season. SMU's 32 goals are the most in a single season since 2024 (32), tying the most under Nelson. Last time SMU scored more than 32 goals in a season was in 2019 (40).
The Mustangs' 6-0 victory over Idaho State matched the team's highest-scoring 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 three multi-goal games.

// 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 nine teams ranked or receiving votes. North Carolina led the way, ranked No. 2 in the nation, followed by No. 4 Wake Forest, No. 5 Duke, No. 9 Notre Dame, No. 12 Louisville, No. 13 Stanford, and No. 19 Virginia and No. 22 Florida State. Clemson received votes.
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 58 of 88 games played under Head Coach Nicole Nelson. SMU achieved the feat in nine of its 16 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

Hali Hartman

Maleeya Martin

Kaylee Noble

Julianne Richter

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