Another season of SMU soccer begins Friday night when the Mustangs play host to the St. Louis University Billikens. The game will take place at Westcott Field with a scheduled kick off at 7:30 p.m.

SMU enters the game ranked No. 8 in the preseason polls by the NSCAA, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. The Billikens are not a team to sleep on considering they are ranked 22nd in the nation and have many key players returning to their team.

St. Louis is a Midwestern rival seeking revenge after SMU’s 3-0 victory last year in St. Louis. The all-time series is in a deadlock with both teams winning 14 games and tying four.

The Mustangs return some key elements from last years No. 1 ranked team. The tri-captains that will lead the team this year are senior midfielders Ben Shuleva and Scott Corbin, and junior midfielder Bruno Guarda. These midfielders look to anchor the SMU offensive attack that was the top-ranked scoring offense in collegiate soccer last year.

The Mustangs will need a stellar offensive attack against the Billikens’ sophomore goalkeeper Ross Kaufman and senior goalkeeper Pat Disbennett, who are battling for the starting job. Kaufman posted a 0.81 GAA last year and finished the season with an 11-3-1 record, and Disbennett missed last season due to injury.

Regardless of the goalkeeper, the Mustangs’ offense should pick up right where it left off last season. Considering the soccer team lost both of its starting strikers last year due to injury and still led the nation in scoring offense, bodes well for the team.

On the defensive side of the ball, things will look different without Jay Needham and Matt Wideman. However, the Mustangs return key defenders like Leone Cruz, Stephen Grant and Ryan Mirsky. With the additions of freshmen Chad Bauman and Patrick Clendenny, the Mustangs still have a solid defensive core. The back line will not have a large amount of college game experience, but one thing it will have is an abundance of talent.