SMU’s Paulo da Silva gets control of the ball in front of Kentucky’s Matt Baum during Saturday’s game at Westcott Field. (Jen Broyles)

The No. 1 ranked men’s soccer team dominated the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday with another shutout victory. The Mustangs scored four unanswered goals, two in each half, on their way to complete their ninth shutout victory in 13 games.

The Mustangs’ first goal came when junior Adrian Chevannes scored his fifth goal of the season in the 16th minute. Senior Chase Wileman and sophomore Paulo da Silva were credited with the assists on the play. Chevannes earned C-USA Offensive Player of the Week honors after his performance against Kentucky.

Later in the half, Jeff Harwell scored his second goal of the season on yet another assist from Wileman. The assist was Wileman’s team-leading seventh and marked the end of scoring in the first half.

In the second half, the Mustangs ensured victory by adding two more goals. Bruno Guarda scored his second goal of the season in the 52nd minute. He was assisted on the play by Richard Oliva and Chevannes. Dario Saintus scored his third goal of the season and the final goal of the game in the 64th minute. Stephen Grant assisted Saintus on the play with a long pass that Saintus ran down and put past the Wildcats’ goalkeeper.

Goalkeepers Matt Wideman and Steve Sandbo shared playing time the shutout. Wideman was pulled after the Mustangs scored their fourth goal. The Wildcats were unable to get any shots on goal in the first 64 minutes while Wideman was in the game.

The Mustangs shut down the Wildcats’ biggest offensive threat, senior Riley O’Neill, without much difficulty. The Mustangs defense denied O’Neill the opportunity to put points on the board by not allowing him a shot.

The Mustangs’ superior midfield play allowed them 16 shots, nine of which were shots on goal, to the Wildcats’ seven. Six of the shots on goal came in the second half when the Mustangs were in complete control of the game. Furthermore, the Mustangs had 11 corner kicks to the Wildcats’ one.

The Mustangs got physical in Saturday’s game committing 19 of the 30 fouls. In spite of the Mustangs committing more fouls than the Wildcats, the Mustangs received one yellow card. The Wildcats, however, received three cards, one of which was a red card in the 73rd minute.

With the win, the Mustangs remain undefeated with a 12-0-1 record and the No. 1 team in collegiate soccer. Kentucky fell to No. 18 with the loss. Six of the 13 teams the Mustangs have played this season are currently ranked in the top 25. The Mustangs play their third conference game of the season against Tulsa tonight at home. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Westcott field.

Last season Tulsa defeated the Mustangs in the quarterfinal round of the Conference-USA Tournament. That was only the second conference loss SMU suffered last season. Senior Captain Jay Needham viewed Tulsa as a rivalry game at the beginning of the season. The Golden Hurricane enter the game with a record of 5-7, but are 3-1 in C-USA so far this season.