Richard Oliva kicks the ball down field during last Sunday’s win against FIU. The Mustangs are currently No. 1 in the Soccer America Poll. (Stuart Palley)
The No. 2 SMU men’s soccer team defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks last night in South Carolina in a 2-1 victory.
The game remained scoreless in the first half. However, despite the 0-0 score, the Mustangs out-shot the Gamecocks on goal with 10 shots, compared to South Carolina’s two.
SMU goalkeeper Steve Sandbo did not have any saves on goal the first half, but SMU posed more of a challenge, making South Carolina goalie Jimmy Maurer save three shots. USC had the first shot on goal in the fourth minute, when Will Traynor was blocked, marking Sandbo’s first save of the game.
SMU forward Dane Saintus had a shot on goal 10 minutes into the game but was denied by Maurer. The Mustangs were relentless in shots on goal, beginning with a shot by midfielder Bruno Guarda in the 13th minute and a high shot by Saintus in the 15th minute. The Gamecocks attacked with another shot on goal by David High in the 22nd minute, but the shot was high. SMU’s midfielder Jeff Harwell had two shots on goal, one being high, and the other counted as another save by Maurer. Forward Scott Geppert also had a blocked shot on goal in the middle of the first half.
The team headed into the locker room after attempting four more shots on goal from Daniel Lopez, two from Harwell and one by Ben Wide.
The Mustangs came out of the locker room and immediately scored in the 48th minute. Richard Oliva scored off a pass from teammate Jeff Hardwell, putting the Mustangs up 1-0.
Saintus had his third shot of the night but was denied again by Maurer’s fourth save of the night. Geppart also saw his second shot on goal in the 48th minute but shot the ball just over the crossbar. Guarda attacked back with another shot on goal but also shot the ball high. Sandbo had his fourth save of the night when USC midfielder J.D. Moon rocketed the ball toward the Mustangs’ net. SMU retaliated when Gabe Wide had his first shot on goal, but it was just wide of the net.
SMU closed out the game with a goal in the 81st minute by Guarda; the assist was credited to Lopez.
Last night’s victory improved the Mustangs to 10-2-1 overall, 5-0-1 in C-USA. The Mustangs will also hold on to their No. 1 spot in conference rankings. The Gamecocks fell to 8-5-1 overall, 2-2-1 in conference play.
The Mustangs will return to Westcott Field on Saturday, Oct. 27, when they take on the Memphis Tigers. The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
