Men’s soccer looks strong in shutout (Photo by Christina Parrish, The Daily Campus)
The Mustangs looked strong throughout their exhibition match against Oral Roberts University on Saturday night. Fans found their way to Richland Community College to get a close look at the 2006 SMU soccer team.
The Mustangs set the tempo early. Dario Saintus scored in the 12th minute of the match on a perfect feed from Bruno Guarda. Oral Roberts appeared outplayed through the duration of the game. The game was played in the SMU offensive zone, despite a few exceptions.
Late in the first half the Mustangs almost took a two-goal lead going into the half, but the goal post remained the keeper’s best friend. The left post stifled the exceptional attempt.
Things got interesting in the second half. On a questionable call, ORU was awarded a penalty kick on which goalie, Matt Wideman, made an incredible save.
On the next offensive attack, SMU was awarded a penalty kick of its own, an opportunity the team didn’t pass up. Mynor Gonzalez easily put it in the back of the net, scoring the second and final goal of the game. From there things got a little physical.
After the Mustangs took their two-goal lead, three Golden Eagles picked up yellow cards. The Mustangs got their aggression out early, picking up yellow cards in the 15th and 40th minutes of the game, but as the Eagles were worn down they got physical, a little too physical. The Mustangs still controlled the flow of the game, even after they had it in hand. SMU’s offense refused to back off even with the game in hand earning the team a couple more scoring opportunities.
There was no question of which was the better team, even at an exhibition game level. Coach Schellas Hyndman kept the substitutes flowing the entire game. Players who received playing time included recent transfers, the twin graduates of Lake Highlands High School, Esteban and Manuel Mariel. They transferred from the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. Both came to SMU with collegiate game experience; Manuel played in 14 games, and started 11 of them, where as Esteban saw action in 13 games, but never started.
Another hometown transfer got playing time for SMU, Scott Geppert, a graduate of Coppell High School. He earned playing time for himself in Saturday’s exhibition after transferring from Brown University.
The last transfer player is Ben Shuleva, from Dublin, Ohio, who transferred from St. John’s where he got playing experience in his freshman year, and started many of the games his sophomore year.
The Mustangs are geared up to run wild in their season opener at Tulsa, Oklahoma on Friday, playing in the Golden Hurricane Classic.
