The No. 6 (according to the NSCAA) SMU men’s soccer team shutout the University of Central Arkansas Bears by a score of 3-0. The convincing win came on senior night when Mustangs’ Steve Sandbo, Scott Corbin, Ben Shuleva, and Adrian Chevannes were honored for their contributions to SMU.
The Mustangs got on the board first in the 24th minute when junior midfielder Jeff Harwell’s shot deflected off a UCA defender into the back of the goal. It was Harwell’s fourth goal of the season that gave the Mustangs a 1-0 lead.
In the 37th minute SMU added to its lead when freshman midfielder Keoka Osorio scored the first goal of his collegiate career. Osorio scored the goal single handedly by stealing the ball from a UCA defender, turning, and then rocketing the ball past the goalie.
The half ended with the Mustangs on top of the Bears by a score of 2-0. SMU completely dominated the half in every facet of the game. This is most apparent in the shots category where the Mustangs outshot the Bears 13-0 in the half.
Right out of halftime, defender Adrian Chevannes scored his second goal of the season after only 1:09 had elapsed in the half. Chevannes dribbled down field to the corner of the box, cut inside the defender and beat the goalie to the bottom right corner of the goal.
There was no scoring the rest of the game, but the remaining time was still meaningful for the seniors. SMU coach Schellas Hyndman pulled the seniors one by one. Their departures from the game were met with a huge applause from the crowd.
Chevannes was excited about the turnout and how he played in his last regular season home game. Chevannes said, “It feels really good to score a goal in my last SMU regular season game.”
While the regular season has come to an end, the most important part of the year is fast approaching for the soccer team.
With a win on Friday night, Tulsa clinched the regular season Conference USA title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. SMU will be the No. 2 seed during the tournament that begins on Wednesday.
After the conference tournament ends, the Mustangs could potentially host some games at Westcott Field in the College Cup Tournament. It all depends on how they play in the conference tournament and what the selection committee decides.
The next Mustangs game is on Wednesday at noon against Florida International University. This year the tournament is hosted by UAB in Birmingham, Ala.
