Freshman midfielder Dylan Jordan dribbles past Southern Miss forward Sarah McFadden (9) in a 4-0 win Oct. 26 at Westcott Field. (Stuart Palley)
A season full of firsts is over, as the SMU women’s soccer team fell 1-0 to No.1 seed East Carolina on Wednesday afternoon in the Conference USA Tournament.
Failing to make it to the tournament last season, the Mustangs’ 2008 appearance marked the first time 17 freshmen traveled to a collegiate championship in their debut season. It was also the first time SMU, or any other team, took on an undefeated team in a conference tournament since 1992.
The Mustangs closed their season at 6-14-1 overall and 4-8-0 in conference, including Wednesday’s loss. East Carolina, continuing its eight-game winning streak, now stands at 14-3-4 overall and 7-0-4 in the conference.
Freshman forward Logan May led the Mustangs with eight total shots and two shots on goal Tuesday, putting her in first place on the SMU roster with eight points. Leading the team with 52 shots, May also was second on the team with 22 shots on goal.
The No. 8 seed Mustangs held the Pirates to a scoreless first half and out-shot the Pirates 10-7. The Mustangs’ offense put a great deal of strain on East Carolina’s senior goalkeeper Amber Campbell, who posted four saves in the first half alone. In the second half, Campbell recorded four saves, upgrading her season total to 107.
East Carolina scored the game-winning goal in the 73rd minute, when sophomore forward Bailey Wilcox headed in a corner kick from junior forward Alexis Foltz, giving Wilcox her second goal of the season.
The Mustangs answered back with nine more shots, but faced an outcome paralleling the last meeting between the two teams in October. Kristin Medeiros fired three shots against the Pirates in the final 90 minutes of SMU’s season, but she came away empty-handed.
SMU freshman goalkeeper Courtney Webb saw a relatively quiet first half, needing to make only one save in the first 45 minutes. Backed up by the defensive efforts of senior defenders Carly Phillips and Kim Peabody, Webb counted zero saves in the second half, but allowed one goal past her.
