DALLAS (SMU) – The SMU women's soccer program begins a seven-game homestand by hosting North Texas in the team's 2026 home opener on Sunday inside Washburne Stadium.

Fans can enjoy free admission to all SMU women's soccer regular season matches. Sunday's game will air on ACCNX, and fans can also follow along via live stats found here.

SMU continues year three in the ACC by looking for its first win of the season after falling late on the road to No. 5 Vanderbilt last time out. The Mustangs ended the 2025 season with a record of 8-8-2 and 2-6-2 in the ACC and finished the season with a record of 6-3-1 inside Washburne Stadium. SMU totaled six shutouts and recorded 26 assists on 25 goals scored with 13 different goal scorers last season.

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, Chasson Griggs and former SMU graduate assistant and men's soccer player Nick Petruicelli.

SMU returned 10 players, including midfielder Brooke Bunton, who was called up to the USWYNT U-18 team five times during the offseason and Libby Jannereth, who was picked by TopDrawerSoccer as SMU's ACC Breakout Candidate this season.

This season will mark the 41st year of women's soccer on the Hilltop and the fifth under head coach Nicole Nelson. The Mustangs are 10-14-5 on the road under Nelson.   

// SETTING THE SCENE

• Sunday's match will be the 24th time SMU and North Texas have faced each other and the first in Washburne since 2022. SMU leads the overall series 16-4-3 and is 10-2-1 at home versus UNT.  The Mustangs have won the last three matches against North Texas and have outscored them 57-22 in 23 games played.
• Last season, SMU defeated UNT 4-3 on the road in Denton. Nicole Stryker gave SMU the early lead, scoring twice as the Mustangs held on for a win.

 
// LAST TIME OUT

• SMU erased a two-goal second-half deficit but fell 4-3 on the road to No. 5 Vanderbilt after a late penalty kick.
• After trailing 3-1 in the second half, the Mustangs tied the game when Kaia Samuelsen Elverum scored in the 65th minute with a rocket to the upper left corner off a feed from Libby Jannereth.
• In the 89th minute, Vanderbilt was awarded a penalty kick after a foul was called inside the box after a lengthy video review. The Commodores, who were picked to win the SEC this season, converted the kick and the victory.
• Brown finished the night with three saves while Kaylee Noble and Londynn Hagan led the team in shots with two apiece. Brooke Bunton scored her second career goal while Elverum netted her first as a Mustang and the second of her career.

// IN THE RANKINGS

• The Mustangs were picked to finish 14th overall in the ACC preseason poll. SMU finished last season ranked 12th in the conference.
• Nine ACC teams were all ranked or received votes in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll, with ACC teams claiming the top four spots.
• SMU will face six teams that were ranked in the 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.