Top Seed SMU Men’s Soccer advances to the AAC Tournament Championship with a 4-0 win over No. 4 Seed Temple Friday evening after securing their regular season title last week.
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The Mustangs held Temple with their seventh consecutive shutout of the season with senior goalkeeper Michael Nelson in goal for majority of the game and sophomore goalkeeper Patrick Hillyard finishing up the match.
The Mustangs capitalized on two free kicks outside of the penalty box within the first five minutes, taking a 2-0 lead early in the game.
Sophomore Emil Cuello scored the first of these two kicks, scoring his first goal of the season in the second minute.
Junior Jordan Cano redirected the second free kick by senior Bryce Clark from the corner of the field right outside of the penalty box in the fourth minute to score a header goal.
The Mustangs kept this lead for majority of the game and battled through the aggressive match. Temple suffered two player injuries during the game and played a man down after a player was issued a red card.
The Mustangs continued to push into the second half with freshman Nicky Hernandez scoring a third goal for the team in the 58th minute.
The Mustangs then found the back of the net for one more goal of the night by sophomore DJ Williams, clinching their 4-0 lead in the last five minutes.
Despite SMU capitalizing on shots, neither team took clear possession of the game with numerous turnovers and fairly equal offensive opportunities throughout the game.
The Mustangs will play for the conference tournament title Sunday at 1 p.m. versus second-seeded UCF at Wescott Field. The Mustangs have kept an undefeated record at Wescott and an overall record of 14-2-1.