SMU’s undefeated start can partially be attributed to the play of five true freshmen who have excited crowds at Westcott Field with electrifying goals, breathtaking assists and solid defensive play.
The young Mustangs are proving to be arguably the most talented recruiting class in SMU history. Just five games into the season, these freshmen have each scored goals and are poised to continue playing at such a high level.
“They’re a talented group without a doubt, each one of them brings different things to the table,” SMU head Coach Tim McClements said. “One of the biggest things they bring is their overall talent, but they also bring a willingness to work hard and do the little things.”
Forward Juan Castillo is the apparent prize of the recruiting class. Castillo is from Kingwood, TX and was named second team All-American. Already, he has made a much bigger impact than expected.
Castillo currently leads the team with 4 goals, 3 of those being game winners and ranks seventh in the nation in goals scored.
“It just shows how far I’ve come,” Castillo said about his goal scoring. “I owe it all to my teammates because they’ve fed the ball to me and find me in the right position, so I owe it to them.”
Castillo was named to the Hurricane Classic All-Tournament Team this weekend after scoring 2 goals. He was awarded Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts.
“Obviously that is an honor,” he said. “All my individual awards reflect upon the team effort.”
Zach Barnes is another freshman playmaker who can bury the ball in the back of the net. Barnes isn’t too shabby himself ranking 70th in the nation with 2 goals which is good enough to be the second leading goal scorer on the team behind Castillo.
The freshman midfielder from Flower Mound, TX was a Parade and ESPN All-American and was named 2010 Gatorade Texas Soccer Player of the Year.
Barnes was ranked as the seventh best overall recruit in the nation and Coach McClements is glad to have him on board at SMU.
“Zach [Barnes] has been great, it’s a little bit different with a player of his caliber coming in,” McClements said. “He has a very strong pedigree and the fact that he can come in and compete right away is what we expected from him and that’s why we recruited him. He’s a guy that adds a dimension to our team that is really valuable.”
Fellow freshman midfielder AJ Corrado made his splash on the SMU soccer scene when he scored an astonishing goal against Lipscomb in the SMU Classic.
Corrado was ranked as the 45th best recruit in the nation and was named 2010 Gatorade Indiana Soccer Player of the Year. He captained Zionsville Community HS to the IHSAA State Championship and also trained with the US Under-17 National Team in 2009.
Corrado believes the biggest transition from high school to college is “the speed and size of the players.” Corrado also thinks the freshmen can attribute their success to their confidence.
“We have a good group of freshmen that came in confident,” he said. “We’ve all been doing our roles, and it’s just been helping the team which in turn helps us [win].”
Midfielder Robbie Derschang is another out-of-state recruit who has made a big impact for the Mustangs and scored his first goal against Lipscomb as well.
Derschang is from Englewood, Colorado and was ranked the 35th best recruit in the nation. He was also named an Adidas All-American participated in the US Under-17 residency program in 2008 with Barnes.
Derschang played club for Real Colorado and chose to come to SMU despite being from out of state.
“I came down here and didn’t know too much about the school,” Derschang said. “The way the coaches presented themselves helped me feel very comfortable in this environment. This team is awesome so it was a good decision.”
Chris Sendejas is another freshman midfielder who played club soccer. Sendejas helped lead the Dallas Texans to the USYSA National Championship in 2008.
Sendejas showed flashes of brilliance when he came off the bench against Seattle and scored a goal and a provided an assist. He has embraced his role as a contributing substitute.
“It takes time getting used to playing all the time in high school to coming in and earning your playing time,” Sendejas said.
According to Sendejas, balancing classes and soccer hasn’t been too much trouble for the freshmen.
“It hasn’t been that hard, our schedule is worked out to where [soccer] doesn’t interfere with our class,” he said. “The only real trouble I’ve had with balancing classes and soccer is the traveling.”
The freshmen have scored 9 of the team’s 12 goals this season and have helped SMU leap to No. 18 in the nation in the latest NSCAA rankings.
The Mustangs and their astounding freshmen will put their undefeated record on the line when they take on No. 16 Creighton this Friday as a part of the Bradley Tournament at 5 p.m. in Peoria, Illinois.
