SMU MEN’S SOCCER 30 NCAA TOURNAMENTS • 18 CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS • 40 ALL-AMERICA SELECTIONS THIS WEEK... Schedule [RV] SMU (6-2-0, 0-1-0) plays its first American Athletic Conference home match against UCF (1-4-1, 0-1-0) Friday at 7:30 p.m. OVERALL: 6-2-0 (HOME: 5-0-0; AWAY 1-2-0; NEUTRAL 0-0-0) SMU is 5-0 at home this season, and is receiving votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches’ Poll. AMERICAN: 0-1-0 (HOME: 0-0-0; AWAY 0-1-0) The Mustangs welcome the Knights to Westcott Field after having a three-game winning streak snapped in a 1-0 overtime loss Date Opponent Time/Results at Tulsa last week. Aug. 25 UC Davis W, 3-2 CICHERO NAMED 2017 SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATE (Sept. 22, 2017) Sept. 1 Oakland^ W, 2-1 Mauro Cichero has been named one of 30 candidates for the 2017 Senior CLASS Award. The award is presented annually Sept. 3 Cornell^ W, 3-0 to an NCAA Division I senior with notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. The Norman, Oklahoma, native is on pace to graduate in December with a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Sept. 7 at No. 1 Stanford L, 1-3 Physiology & Sport Management. Cichero has routinely been active in the community, spending time with local children at free Sept. 9 at Santa Clara W, 1-0 youth clinics and camps, while providing direction through soccer oriented games. He also has done community service work with Habitat for Humanity. Cichero has been named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, the TopDrawerSoccer.com Best Sept. 15 [RV] Loyola University Maryland W, 4-0 XI second team and the Preseason All-Conference team. Cichero is the emotional leader of the Mustangs as he is tied for the Sept. 17 Brown W, 1-0 conference lead in points (14) and tied for second in the league in assists (4). Cichero has five goals this season, and is tied for the team lead with teammate Garrett McLaughlin. He notched his first career hat trick against UC Davis in the season Sept. 24 at Tulsa* L, 0-1 (OT) opener (Aug. 25) to earn The American Offensive Player of the Week (Aug. 28). Sept. 29 UCF* 7:30 PM THREE MUSTANGS GARNER AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE WEEKLY HONORS (Sept. 18, 2017) Oct. 7 at Temple* 6:00 PM Jordan Cano was named the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week, while Garrett McLaughlin and Oct. 10 Northeastern 7:00 PM Michael Nelson were selected to the weekly honor roll. Oct. 14 Memphis* 7:00 PM LAST TIME OUT – No. 19 SMU FALLS IN OVERTIME AT TULSA, 1-0 (Sept. 24, 2017) Oct. 17 Oral Roberts 7:00 PM The SMU men’s soccer team fell in overtime at Tulsa, 1-0, at the Hurricane Soccer and Track Stadium. Tulsa’s Gustavo Vargas knocked in a header from two yards out off a corner kick in the 94th minute to give the Golden Hurricane the win. The Mus- Oct. 21 at Cincinnati* TBD tangs fell to 6-2-0 overall and 0-1-0 in The American, while Tulsa improved to 3-3-1 on the season and 1-0-0 in conference Oct. 29 at South Florida* 12:00 PM play. Nov. 4 at Connecticut* TBD ABOUT SMU (AMERICAN) American Athletic Conference Championship SMU (6-2-0, 0-1-0) is led by head coach Kevin Hudson, who has 21 letterwinners returning, including eight starters from last season. The Mustangs were selected to finish fifth in the preseason poll of The American, a league that sent two teams (Tulsa, Nov 10 Semifinals TBD USF) to the 2016 NCAA Tournament. SMU is the only team in The American with six wins and is the only team in the conference Nov 12 Championship TBD receiving votes in the United Coaches’ Poll. The Mustangs won their season opener against UC Davis (3-2), followed by two wins against Oakland (2-1) and Cornell (3-0) to claim the SMU Tournament title. On the first road trip of the season, the Mus- Home matches in bold at Westcott Field; *Conference match; tangs went 1-1 in California with a 3-1 loss to then-No. 1 Stanford, before a 1-0 victory against Santa Clara. SMU won its last ^SMU Tournament; All times CT two matches at home with a 4-0 win against Loyola (Md.) and a 1-0 victory against Brown. The Mustangs lead the American Athletic Conference in points (6.00), goals (1.88) and assists per game (2.25). SMU went 6-9-1 overall and 2-4-1 in conference play in 2016. ABOUT UCF (AMERICAN) Follow the Mustangs UCF (1-4-1, 0-1-0) will play its fifth straight match on the road against SMU when the Knights take the pitch Friday. Five of • WEBSITE: SMUMustangs.com UCF’s first six matches have been on the road. The Knights opened conference play with a 3-2 double overtime loss to USF • FACEBOOK: /SMUSoccerM last week in the War on I-4 Rivalry Series. Senior Matias Pyysalo leads UCF offense with four goals and nine points. He has • TWITTER: @SMUSoccer - #PonyUp totaled 17 shots, including nine on goal. Freshman Yannik Oettl has registered 21 saves with a 1.22 goals-against average, • INSTAGRAM: @SMU.Mustangs - @SMU_msoc including two shutouts this year. • YOUTUBE: /SMUMustangsAthletics • TAGBOARD: /PonyUp SMU-UCF SERIES HISTORY SMU holds a 5-4-4 lead in the all-time series against UCF. Last year, UCF’s Matias Pyysalo delivered the game-winning goal in the 63rd minute to defeat the Mustangs, 1-0. LAST TIME AGAINST UCF (L, 1-0 at UCF on Oct. 1, 2016): After a two and a half hour weather delay, the SMU fell to UCF, 1-0, in Orlando, Florida. The Mustangs outshot the Knights 5-4 in the first half, despite a scoreless first period. Emil Cuello led all Mustangs with four shots and one on goal. UCF scored in the 63rd minute of the match as Matias Pyysalo sneaked one past goalkeeper Michael Nelson. The Knights posted eleven total shots, to SMU’s eight. Michael Nelson recorded one save in 90 minutes of play. UP NEXT SMU continues conference play at Temple Saturday, Oct. 7. The match is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. CT. Men’s Soccer Contact: William B. Jones • Office: (214) 768-4849 • E-mail: [email protected] Public Relations Office • SMU • Loyd All-Sports Center • 5800 Ownby Dr • Suite 305 • Dallas, Texas 75205 QUICK FACTS GENERAL INFORMATION Former SMU standout Kevin Hudson was named the fourth head coach in the program’s history on Jan. 9, 2015. Hudson spent seven Location _________________________________________________________ Dallas, Texas seasons as an assistant coach and was promoted to associate head Founded __________________________________________________________________1911 coach prior to the 2014 season after returning to the Hilltop in 2007. President _____________________________________________________ R. Gerald Turner Director of Athletics __________________________________________________ Rick Hart During Hudson’s nine years on the Hilltop, the Mustangs have reached the NCAA Tournament on five occasions, advancing as far as the Faculty Athletic Representative ____________________________________C. Paul Rogers Elite Eight in 2010. In 2010 and 2012, SMU earned the Conference Enrollment ______________________________________________________________11,739 USA regular season title, and in 2011 the squad won the tournament Conference_________________________________________American Athletic Conference championship. School Nickname _____________________________________________________ Mustangs In his first year as head coach, Hudson’s team claimed the 2015 Mascot _______________________________________________ Peruna (a Shetland Pony) American Athletic Conference regular season title and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. Hudson Colors ________________________________________ Red (PMS 186) and Blue (PMS 286) and his coaching staff were named the 2015 AAC Coaching Staff of the Year. The Mustangs have amassed a 103-63-23 (.606) record during Hudson’s tenure including a 21-12-5 (.618) record as head coach. MUSTANG COACHING STAFF Head Coach _____________________________________________ Kevin Hudson (SMU ‘04) On the field, Hudson has helped mentor a pair of NSCAA All-America Second-Team selections, as Assistant Coaches ________________________________________________Dustin Norman well as 14 All-Region honorees. At the conference level, three student-athletes have been selected as Player of the Year and 31 have been recognized as all-conference competitors. _______________________________________________________ Brett Koziczkowski Athletic Trainer ____________________________________________________ Becky Rolke In two seasons as head coach, Hudson has coached a 2015 MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist and Soccer Office Phone ______________________________________________(214) 768-2158 NSCAA All-American First Team member, the 2015 AAC Offensive Player of the Year, 2015 AAC Midfielder of the Year, 2015 AAC Goalkeeper of the Year and the 2016 AAC Rookie of the Year. Soccer Office Fax _______________________________________________ (214) 768-2405 In the classroom, there has been an NSCAA Scholar-Athlete All-America selection, three CoSIDA SMU MEDIA INFORMATION Academic All-America honorees, ten CoSIDA All-District selections, 13 C-USA Academic Medal recipients, and seven all-conference academic team award winners. The Mustangs were also Men’s Soccer Contact ___________________________________________ William B. Jones awarded the 2014-15 and 2015-16 AAC Team Academic Excellence Award for the highest team GPA Soccer Contact’s Office Phone ____________________________________ (214) 768-4849 in the conference. E-mail _______________________________________________________ [email protected] Athletic Public Relations Office Phone ______________________________ (214) 768-2883 Hudson was a standout student-athlete with the Mustangs from 2000-03 and was a member of SMU’s 2000 College Cup team. In 2003, Hudson was an NSCAA/adidas All-Midwest Region First Athletic Public Relations Address: Team selection, as well as an All-Missouri Valley Conference First Team honoree.