After a two-hour lightning delay, SMU and Missouri State finally took the field to kick off the 2010 men’s soccer season.
The heavy rains flooded Westcott Field, causing muddy and horrific field conditions.
Despite the melancholy weather, the Mustangs prevailed with an electrifying 3-2 overtime victory over the Bears.
“We have a very resilient group,” SMU head coach Tim McClements said. “The thing that we said at halftime was that we dug ourselves in a hole, but we have the quality in the room to get ourselves out of it, and we did. It was a great way to start out the season.”
MSU struck first 29 minutes into the game when midfielder Gerard Barbero assisted fellow midfielder Heath Melugin, who was able to score on a header off a perfectly executed corner kick to give the Bears a 1-0 lead.
“Missouri State is a very athletic team, and they get numbers behind the ball,” McClements said. “They’re very difficult to break down.”
Just before halftime, the Bears’ defender Callen Roselieb shocked the Mustangs by scoring another goal in the final minutes of the first half giving MSU a 2-0 lead heading into halftime.
As the second half kicked off, SMU turned to a pair of freshmen to help save the game.
First, midfielder Zach Barnes gave SMU life, scoring right off the bat only a minute into the second half with a distant header into an empty net.
“[The goal] felt like it brought some life to the guys,” Barnes said. “In the 2nd half we were ready to go and come back.”
Fellow freshman forward Juan Castillo followed with a goal of his own three minutes before the end of the second half, sending the game into overtime.
“The ball came off the goalie right on my leg, and I just put it in the back of the net,” Castillo said. “You can’t think you’re a freshman–you just have to play like [the upperclassmen] and get ahead of them.”
In the second half of overtime, SMU midfielder AJ Corrado was able to find midfielder TJ Nelson, who scored the game winning goal 12 minutes into overtime.
“It was such a joyful moment for me…” Nelson said. “My first goal being the game winner–I loved it.”
SMU will host Lipscomb in the SMU Classic on Sept. 4 at 7 p.m.
