SMU’s Bruno Guarda celebrates a penalty kick goal against Saint Louis University. (John Schreiber)
In their first game of conference play, the No. 9 ranked SMU Mustangs (4-2-1) will face off against the No. 23 ranked Tulsa Golden Hurricane. Starting off C-USA play is important, considering the reason the Mustangs play such a tough September schedule: to prepare for conference play and in theory the College Cup.
The Golden Hurricane is a conference rival that SMU has fared well against historically (23-5-2). While Tulsa’s teams of the past have not been up to par, the Golden Hurricane is not a team to sleep on this year.
Senior forward Todd Goddard leads Tulsa on and off of the field. He was selected a C-USA Academic Honoree both his sophomore and junior years. He currently leads the Golden Hurricane in goals with six and shots with 23.
Tulsa is coming off of a huge win against Creighton last Saturday, who was ranked No. 7 at the time. Their first loss of the season dropped Creighton all the way down to No. 13. The Mustangs must play on both sides of the ball unless they want to meet the same fate as Creighton.
SMU is looking to build on their success this past week against Tulsa. The Mustangs had a fantastic week beating both Centenary and a double overtime win in a thriller against Oral Roberts.
The Mustangs are currently plagued by injuries with four starters unable to play over the weekend. There were no major injuries, so there is a possibility that some of the starters may find themselves playing on Friday. If not, the Mustangs will lose on of their key advantage over Tulsa: depth.
At least the tri-captains Bruno Guarda, Scott Corbin and Ben Shuleva are healthy. Guarda currently leads C-USA in points with 14 and SMU in goals with four. All three of the captains are integral parts of the midfield since they play hard on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.
The Mustangs’ defense has been stingy this year with a goals against average of 1.18. The defensive backfield is a group of young yet talented players that have performed extremely well as a unit. Keeping Goddard in check is the key to success for the backfield.
The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. and can be followed on Gametracker. After Tulsa, the Mustangs return to Dallas for a two game homestand against Missouri State and the University of Central Florida.
