After suffering a shutout in its opening game of the season, followed by a double overtime draw last weekend, the SMU women’s soccer team will try for its first win of the season tonight at 7 p.m. against winless Prairie View A&M University.
An interesting element of Friday’s game will be the matchup of SMU’s young roster against Prairie View A&M’s upperclassmen-packed lineup. While there is only one senior on the Panthers’ roster, nine juniors and eight sophomores form the backbone of the team.
“There are games you’re supposed to win during the year and this is a game we’re supposed to win,” explained head coach Brent Erwin. “No, there’s no guarantee, but this is a team we should win against.”
Prairie View A&M’s three All-Southwestern Athletic Conference players – sophomore midfielder Brenda Castillo, sophomore forward Angelica Diaz, and junior goalkeeper Jessica Garcia – could have a strong presence.
The Panthers will look to the team’s only scorer so far this season, Diaz, to help lead them to their first win as they kick off a three-game road series. Diaz had her first goal of the season in the team’s season opener against Texas College.
Following tonight’s game, the Mustangs will host No.25-ranked Kansas (3-0) at 1 p.m. Sunday. Kansas has defeated Auburn, Drake and Purdue in its run to what is, so far, a perfect season.
“They’re a good team, but at this point we’ve played two very good teams already,” Erwin said. “Obviously it’s a game we can win; it’s a game we can play well.”
In last season’s matchup, the Mustangs defeated the Jayhawks 2-0 in Lawrence, Kan., in what transpired into a four-game losing streak for the Jayhawks.
Kansas credits its three wins particularly to redshirt freshman Emily Cressy and junior Estelle Johnson. Both players had strong impacts in the team’s win over Purdue, as Cressy had one goal and one assist, becoming the first Kansas player to record a multi-point match in her first collegiate appearance since 2001. She leads the team with two goals, averaging 66.7 percent in successful shots on goal.
Johnson aided Kansas’ defense in securing the shutout, earning her conference Defensive Player of the Week. Goalkeeper Julie Hanley had her first shutout since 2006.
The Jayhwaks are averaging 2.5 goals and 10.5 shots per game. Hanley has seven saves on the season, stopping 86.7 percent of all shots aimed at the Jayhawks.
For the Mustangs, Erwin will look to the fresh talent of freshmen Devon Herrman, Logan May, Natalie Heintz, Kaitlyn Eidson and Katherine Cox.
“I think what we need to do at some point very soon is expand the base of the players we’re playing and get a larger rotation playing so we can get through the season better,” said Erwin.
So far, Herrman and Kristin Medeiros lead the Mustangs in goals, and Dylan Jordan in leads in assists. Gunter has 11 saves on the season after playing in every minute of both games thus far.
