(Spencer J Eggers/ The Daily Campus)
Although regular season is coming to an end, the Conference USA tournament is just around the corner – and Friday’s match will set the tone. The SMU Men’s Soccer team will play their season finale against the Memphis Tigers Friday night at 7 p.m. at Westcott Field. Friday’s Senior Night match will determine the seed SMU will be ranked for the C-USA tournament hosted by University of Tulsa, Nov. 9 – Nov. 13. After one of the most challenging seasons yet, the Mustangs have ranked 20th in the Ratings Percentage Index Poll (RPI).
These rankings are used for determining seeding for the NCAA tournament. At 9-6-1, their record places them in the top 25. Five of the Mustangs’ 17 opponents this season are currently ranked in the RPI Top 25, eight were in the Top 50, and the average rank of their opponents was 64th.
SMU was 3-2 against the Top 25 and 3-4 against the Top 50 leaving one more score to settle against Memphis (34) Friday night. While most teams struggle on the road, SMU managed to keep their composure and play some of their best games of the season away.
The Mustangs posted an overtime thriller in Durham on September 4th against Duke, and continued with a rare double-overtime match with UCLA on September 25th. SMU didn’t stop there and played an other exciting double-overtime game South Carolina on Oct. 12. Coach McClements described this year’s team in one word as, “Tested.”
“It’s been a season with its ups and downs,” McClements added.
SMU’s offense was led by Arthur Ivo, who led the team with five goals and led in assists as well with eight.
Teammates Juan Castillo and Diogo de Almeida both followed close behind with four goals each. The guys had many opportunities, outshooting opponents 103-88 and having a 85-64 edge in corner kicks this season.
“It’s nice to get assists, it’s nice to score goals, but it’s much nicer to win.” Ivo said.
The defense was led by Ibarra who, with the exception of the season opener against William & Mary as the end of the match against Oakland, played every single minute of the season. Devin Cook, a freshman, filled in for the two games and another new face to the Mustangs, Juan Robles, made his first appearance in the second half Wednesday night against Kentucky.
Ibarra recorded a 1.07 goals against average and made 62 saves for .795 save percentage. Although Ibarra’s talent has proven solid in the stat sheets, there is still the element of compeition that keeps him motivated.
“That drives me, knowing that there’s a guy right behind me trying to take my spot,” Ibarra said.
SMU, with a 3-3-1 record in Conference USA, currently sits in sixth place. Although they are tied for fifth with UCF, the Knights hold the tiebreaker. Memphis has a 4-3 record and holds the fourth seed. With a win and a Marshall loss, SMU would be tied with Marshall for third place. The tiebreaker is unknown since the two squads tied earlier in the season.
