The men’s soccer team succeeded in defending their undefeated record at the TLC Plumbing & Utility Invite. The Mustangs record is no longer unblemished, however, SMU suffered its first tie against the New Mexico Lobos.
The Mustangs got off to a good start on Friday against the Lobos with junior Adrian Chevannes scoring his fourth goal of the season in the 43rd minute. Senior Chase Wileman and sophomore Paulo da Silva assisted him on the play.
The Lobos rebounded by attacking the Mustang defense with a myriad of shots. The Lobos’ pressure eventually led to the Mustangs knocking the ball into their own goal in the 57th minute. The hard fought game continued into overtime and eventually resulted in a 1-1 tie.
The Mustang defense and senior goalkeeper Matt Wideman saw one of its most difficult challenges of the season. New Mexico’s forwards Chris Wright and Blake Danaher were responsible for some of the relentless pressure, teaming up for seven of the Lobos’ 17 shots, and two of the five shots on goal.
Prior to Friday’s game, Wideman had not seen too many shots on goal because the Mustangs’ team defense controlled the midfield and the tempo of the game. The Lobos were in control for most of the second half, but the Mustangs were able to play well enough to finish in a tie.
Even though the Mustangs came up short of a win, their ability to fend off a persistent New Mexico attack shows that the Mustangs deserve their number one ranking. SMU has the ability to avoid a loss to a great team even when they are not playing their best soccer.
In the second game of the tournament on Sunday, the Mustangs knocked off the Dayton Flyers. Before their loss to the Mustangs, the Flyers had won four straight games without allowing a goal. The win against the Flyers tested the Mustangs’ resolve to bounce back from their first tie of the season.
SMU goalkeeper Matt Wideman anchored the Mustang defense that led the to the 1-0 victory. Wideman stopped all five of the Flyers’ shots on goal to complete his eighth shutout in ten games. As a result of his performance during the tournament, Wideman earned his third consecutive C-USA defensive player of the week honor.
Sophomore Scott Geppert scored the only goal of the game in the 59th minute off of a Chase Wileman corner kick. Geppert’s goal was his fourth of the season, making him the scoring leader for the Mustangs.
The Mustangs were able to hang on to the lead this time and won their eighth game of the season. With the loss, Dayton fell to 4-4.
The road trip was characterized by team defense, chemistry and perseverance. These characteristics are becoming common for the Mustangs who continue to roll along without a loss in spite of playing one of the toughest schedules in soccer.
SMU men’s soccer heads to St. Louis, Mo. this Friday to take on Saint Louis University.
