SMU forward Manuel Mariel looks to turn a cross into a goal as George Mason defender Michael Vallie rushes toward him in Friday’s 3-0 win. (Casey Lee)

The SMU men’s soccer team (5-0-1) vaulted to No. 2 in the Soccer America and collegesoccernews.com polls after winning the first annual Prego’s Express Italian Men’s Soccer Invitational held at Westcott Field. The two tournament wins were the Mustangs’ first home games after playing their first four games on the road.

In the weekend’s wins, senior forward Paulo da Silva added two goals making his season total five goals in six games. da Silva leads the Mustangs in points with 12 and goals with five. He is also second in Conference USA in both points and goals.

His performance in the tournament grabbed the attention of collegiate soccer. He was awarded MVP honors at the weekend tournament, Conference USA Player of the Week for the second week running, and collegesoccernews.com’s National Player of the Week.

SMU 3, George Mason 0

The Mustangs got out to a quick lead in the home opener when junior forward Manuel Mariel hit home a Gabe Arredondo cross in the fourth minute after it came loose in front of the net. It was Mariel’s second goal of the season and Arredondo’s third assist.

The game stayed at 1-0 through halftime until the Mustangs grabbed a commanding lead in the 78th minute. da Silva scored his fourth goal of the season when he converted a long pass from senior midfielder Jeff Harwell at the top of the box.

Less than three minutes later, freshman Diogo de Almeida put the game out of reach for George Mason when he scored off another loose ball in front of the net. The unassisted goal was the first of de Almeida’s collegiate career.

The 3-0 win was goalkeeper Craig Hill’s third shutout of the season. Hill never had to make a save due to the Mustangs’ defense.

Head coach Tim McClements had nothing but praise for the team’s defensive efforts. “They are great players individually,” said McClements “but they are even better when they are playing collectively and together.”

On top of the emphasis on the defense playing as a unit, McClements was pleased with the general organization and focus. This may help explain why Hill never had to make a statistical save during the game.

SMU 3, Oakland 1

Saturday night’s game against Oakland had similar results to Friday night’s game. However, it came under completely different circumstances.

The weather for Saturday night’s game was rainy and mildly windy, making conditions on the field less than ideal. But this did not stop the team from going out and performing for the fans who showed up to support the team in spite of the weather.

The first two SMU goals came from freshmen and were the firsts of their respective careers. Payton Hickey scored the first goal in the 41st minute in the box off of a Dane Saintus cross.

Forward Joe Cooper added another goal in the 55th minute off of another assist by Arredondo.

Oakland finally got on the board in the 70th minute off of a loose ball inside the box that Martin Sandell put in the back of the net.

Instead of letting Oakland back in the game, the Mustangs responded with another goal only 23 seconds later when da Silva put home his team-leading fifth goal of the season off of an assist from his defender roommate Leone Cruz.