Senior Night at Westcott Field was a major success for the No. 13 ranked men’s soccer team, as it clinched the American Athletic Conference regular season title in a 1-0 victory over Connecticut.
The lone goal was produced by younger Mustangs. In the 78th minute, junior Emil Cuello passed to sophomore Garrett McLaughlin, who was able to place it beautifully past the Connecticut keeper. McLaughlin has 13 goals on the season — a mark a Mustang has not surpassed since 2004. The sophomore has 17 goals in his career.
Michael Nelson was stalwart as a goalie. Even though he only saw two shots, he saved both of them. Nelson has nine shutouts this season.
The defenders also played well. Eddie Munjoma, Jordan Cano, Talen Maples, Philip Ponder and Jared Rice stifled the Huskies for all 90 minutes. SMU’s backline only allowed seven shots, two of which were on target.
SMU improved to 13-2-1 overall and 5-1-1 in conference play and will enter the conference tournament as the No. 1 seed.
The American Men’s Soccer Championship will be Friday and Sunday at SMU. On Friday, UCF will take on Connecticut in the first game, and then SMU will play Tulsa. The winners of those games will face off in the championship game Sunday.
