SMU forward Dane Saintus gains control of the ball with Florida International’s Jared Rose (19) in pursuit. (Stuart Palley)

The SMU men’s soccer team widened its lead atop the conference standings with a win over Florida International University on Sunday afternoon. After two wins this week, the Mustangs vaulted to No. 2 in the Soccer America poll behind only Wake Forest.

The Mustangs improved their overall record to 9-2-2 and remained undefeated in conference play with a 4-0-1 record. With the loss, FIU fell to 2-9-2 overall and 2-3-0 in conference play.

SMU opened up the scoring in the 20th minute when junior midfielder Bruno Guarda lofted the ball right over FIU goalkeeper Kyle Thomas. Thomas misplayed the ball by trying to kick it around Guarda as opposed to picking it up. The keeper’s decision resulted in Guarda winning the ball and scoring his fifth goal of the season. He leads the team with 16 points on the season.

The half ended with a score of 1-0. In the first half, the Mustangs played with the wind that affected both sides. SMU head coach Schellas Hyndman said, “The conditions were tough with the wind. It really changes the way we play the game.”

The second half was deadlocked for nearly the entire half. SMU had many scoring chances, but most of its shots changed course because of the heavy wind.

With the game winding down and the Golden Panthers trying desperately to score, Scott Geppert put the game out of reach with his fourth goal of the season. He was assisted on the play by Dane Saintus who shook two defenders before assisting Geppert on the goal.

After missing the first five games with injuries, Geppert worked his way back into the starting lineup. He has scored four goals in eight games this season. The Mustangs are undefeated since Geppert has returned to the SMU lineup.

Geppert said he is “really excited to be back on the field.” His energy has helped fuel the Mustangs’ surge in the standings and rankings. This week, Conference USA honored him with the Offensive Player of the Week award. He scored in both of SMU’s games this week.

Senior goalkeeper Steve Sandbo was awarded with the C-USA Defensive Player of the Week. Sandbo picked up his third shutout of the year on Sunday night and lowered his goals against average to 1.03.

The Mustangs will look for their 10th win Wednesday night when they travel to South Carolina to face the Gamecocks.