(Kalen Schou/The Daily Campus)
SMU men’s soccer capped off the SMU Classic with a 3-0 victory over the Seattle Redhawks Monday afternoon at Westcott Field. The Mustangs fished undefeated (2-0) in the tournament, scoring six goals and only allowing one.
SMU opened the classic Saturday with a 3-1 win over Lipscomb. Freshmen Robbie Dershang, Zach Barnes and AJ Corrado all scored goals. The Mustangs breezed by the Bisons.
“Overall, it’s been a great start for [the freshmen],” McClements said. “They’re logging minutes and giving us results. They’ve been getting goals and assists, so that’s been great.”
Against Seattle, the Mustangs put on another great offensive display and dominated the game, scoring two goals in the first half and another in the second.
“We were concerned because we know that Seattle is a very strong opponent,” McClements said. “We wanted to come out and play our game and move the ball quickly, put them under, and take our chances and I think the guys did great.”
Freshman forward Juan Castillo got the goal scoring started early on, turning defense into offense in the 14th minute. Castillo made a defensive steal and kicked the ball in the bottom left corner for the goal.
“We were waiting for them to make the mistake, and as soon as I popped the ball out, I took the last guy on and put in the back of the net,” Castillo said.
Just before halftime, the Mustangs added another goal when forward Chris Sendejas crossed the ball into the box and found forward Ben Hill, who buried the ball in the back of the net with an diving header in the 44th minute.
“I saw [the ball] going out and I chased for it,” Sendejas said. “I saw Ben [Hill] coming across, crossed [the ball], and it went right to his head.”
Sendejas was able to get behind Seattle’s defense and scored a goal of his own late in the game after a corner kick in the 78th minute.
“Coming in fresh helped me get behind the line,” he said. “[The ball] went to Adam [Still]. He shot it, but I was in the way, and I brought it down and put it in the back of the net.”
The SMU defense was solid and goalkeeper Craig Hill recorded his first shutout of the year.
“Our offense held on to the ball really well,” the senior captain said. “As soon as they won the ball we pressured really hard, and they weren’t able to score goals off that.”
SMU will play their next game against Southern Illinois Edwardsville on September 10 at 5 p.m. as a part of the Hurricane Classic in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
