Juan Castillo, who was named to the preseason All-Conference USA team this month, will lead the Mustangs into their last season in C-USA (Spencer J Eggers/The Daily Campus)

Men

The men’s soccer team will open its 2012 season against Campbell at Westcott Field on Aug. 24.

The Mustangs have been hard at work this offseason preparing for the new season.

SMU ranked No.16 in NSCAA preseason national rankings.

The team played Houston Baptist Aug. 18 in the last exhibition game which ended in a 1-1 tie.

Last year the SMU men’s soccer team won the Conference USA Championship as the No.6 seed in the tournament, posting a 13-7-1 record for the season.

The Mustangs beat South Carolina for the championship, despite earlier predictions that SMU would finish second in 2011.

This preseason the team has been led by junior forward Juan Castillo, who was named to the Preseason All-Conference USA team on Aug. 8.

Last season he was also named to the second team All-USA and to the NSCAA Midwest Region second team.

Castillo was second on the team in points and goals scored.
The team’s 2011 success largely hinged upon its composure and its opponents’s lack thereof. Last season SMU’s opponents received twice as many penalties as did the Mustangs.

The team benefited from a consistent level of play that lasted all year long; they played solid, team-oriented soccer week in and week out.

The players were able to develop trust with their teammates which allowed them to play well in the clutch situations and win the tight ones.

The upcoming games will test if the consistency of last year’s team will carry over into 2012.

Women

The future move to the Big East makes 2012 a transition year for all SMU sports.

Every team wants to exit Conference USA in a memorable fashion; the same goes for the women’s soccer team. In 2011 the Mustangs went 11-8-1, finishing third in C-USA.

This year, the team is drastically different with a brand new coaching staff, which includes the leadership of two-time National Coach of the year, Chris Petrucelli.

After 13 seasons as head coach at the University of Texas, Petrucelli replaced former head coach Brent Erwin.
In June, SMU also named Nicole Nelson as the assistant soccer coach.

Nelson comes to the Hilltop after four seasons at the University of Oklahoma.

The coaches are reunited at SMU: Nelson was an assistant to Petrucelli at Texas from 2006 to 2007.

The Mustangs also need to replace two starting center backs and a starting keeper.

Petrucelli writes in his blog that to fill the holes, the team’s focus will be on defense and that the starting group in the back will be athletic with lots of upside.

The team will be a mixture of youth and experience, with eight returning starters and seven freshmen joining the roster.

Among the returning starters is preseason All-C-USA midfielder Mallory Baum, who is a strong offensive weapon and a threat of scoring at any time.

Petrucelli feels the team will improve as the season progresses as long as everyone remains healthy.

He also notes in his blog that sophomore forwards Olivia Elliot and Shelby Redman are back from injury and at full strength.

The women started their season Friday at the SDSU Sports Deck, where they lost to San Diego State 1-0 in overtime after an impressive defensive effort.

The team will return to Westcott Field for its home opener on Aug. 24.