SMU’s Adam Still fights for the ball against South Carolina on Wednesday night. (Stuart Palley)

Last night the SMU men’s soccer team (6-3-2, 0-2-1) battled conference rival South Carolina. The game was very physical, with many scuffles and a red card. After the dust settled, the game was stuck at 1-1 after two overtime periods.

South Carolina got the scoring underway as sophomore Blake Brettschneider scored an unassisted goal in the 65th minute. The goal came as SMU was down a defender and Leone Cruz was down on the field with an injury.

The Mustangs did not take long to answer as Manuel Mariel buried a penalty kick in just a few seconds later in the 65th minute.

The South Carolina tactic for defeating the Mustangs was simple from the beginning, be physical and play direct. Both tactics have proven to be very successful against the Mustangs, as all three losses have come to the hand of teams who have used this strategy.

Team captain and defensive leader Daniel Lopez talked about how the Mustangs did better defending against teams playing over the top, “We just decided as a defensive line that we were going to step up and defend it.”

The back line of the defense missed a notable defender in Ryan Mirsky who played as a center striker. Lopez talked about filling in for Mirsky, “Everyone did a good job, we played for each other.”

To help guard against teams playing direct, the Mustangs have switched from a 4-4-2, which means there are four defenders and midfielder and two strikers, to a 4-3-3, which takes a man away from the midfield and puts him up top.

Head coach Tim McClements talked after the game about switching formations. ” Playing a 4-4-2 we were having difficulty dealing with teams playing direct. We made the change in Memphis, and we did it more out of necessity more than for offensive reasons.”

The Mustangs lost Dane Saintus for their game Sunday against Central Arkansas as he received a red card in the 109th minute for a scuffle he had with a South Carolina player.