Midfielder Leslie Briggs crosses the ball in the Mustangs’ game against UNT last month. CASEY LEE/The Daily Campus

After wrapping up this season’s grueling road schedule, the women’s soccer team returns home for a pair of weekend matchups against Conference USA opponents, including the No. 4 University of Central Florida Knights.

The Mustangs (5-9-1, 3-4-1 C-USA) played seven of their first nine games on the road, and Friday’s contest with UCF (12-3-1, 7-1-0) will be SMU’s fourth game against a Top-25 team.

“We’re road warriors,” head coach Brent Erwin said. “We play the best teams. We’re not afraid to play them on the road, and we’re not afraid to play them at home.”

And while the Mustangs failed to win any of the three games, Erwin is optimistic about his team’s chances against the Knights.

“We’ve played some very good teams, but we’re playing at our best right now,” he said.

One of the keys to SMU’s recent success has been the play of sophomore goalkeeper Courtney Webb.

In the six games the Mustangs have played this month, Webb has posted a 0.80 goals-against-average with 24 saves, and SMU has a record of 3-2-1 in that span.

Erwin has also been impressed with the progression of his team’s first- and second-year players.

“They’ve been tremendous,” he said. “The younger players are doing what we know they can do.”

Freshmen Shelby Hartweck and Kenzie Scovill have combined for 37 shots and seven goals, while sophomore forward Logan May leads the team with four assists.

“A lot of the credit goes to [the upperclassmen],” Erwin said. “They make the younger players feel comfortable and they help them through the rough times.”

As the Mustangs make a push for a winning record within C-USA, this weekend’s games could also help determine whether or not they make it into the postseason.

Only the top six teams in the conference will advance to the C-USA Championships, and SMU is currently in seventh place behind the Marshall Thundering Herd (11-5-0, 4-4-0).

The conference tournament will be held at SMU from Nov. 4-8.

“These are very important games, and we want to go out and win every one of them,” Erwin said.

SMU will host the UCF Knights on Friday at 7 p.m. before kicking off against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (4-10-0, 0-8-0) Sunday at 1 p.m. Both games will take place at Westcott Field.