The Mustangs continued their winning tradition against the Centenary College Gents with a final score of 4-1.
After a disappointing weekend, SMU once again found their stride. The first half of the game was another disappointment to head coach Tim McClements. The score at halftime was 1-0. The single goal came from forward Dane Saintus with an assist from midfielder Diogo de Almeida.
“We’re glad we got the win, but we’re disappointed that we didn’t play to our standard,” McClements said.
The play on behalf of the Mustangs seemed to be cautious and unsure. This lack of comfort may be due to the amount of injuries on the team and the moving of players to compensate. Freshman T.J. Nelson has a pulled hamstring and was unable to play the full game. Defender Brandon Pfluger is still unable to play, and it is unclear as to when he will be able to return. After 45 minutes of shaky play, the team finally found their rhythm and was able to score three more goals.
Saintus had his first career hat trick, giving the Mustangs three goals. His second goal of the game came just 21 seconds into the first half, with a rebound and assist from midfielder Richard Oliva. Saintus’s third goal, his sixth goal this season, came off an assist from forward Arthur Ivo.
Saintus saw the team as “being more aggressive and going forward” in this game compared to their last two. Forward Joe Cooper scored his second goal of the season off an assist from defender Ryan Rosenbaum. This was Rosenbaum’s first game of his SMU career, and he played for 57 minutes.
To prepare for the game, Cooper said, “We worked on being more offensive minded instead of more defensive minded.”
The Centenary Gents were able to avoid a shut out by scoring in the 89th minute off a corner kick, which was scored by Ryan Christanson.
The Mustangs’ next opponent is Memphis University. The game will be played at 5 p.m. at Westcott field on Oct. 4.