SMU Mustangs men's soccer
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The SMU Mustangs men's soccer team represents
Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , ...
in men's
college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United K ...
. The team currently competes in The American Athletic Conference. The Mustangs made their most recent appearance in the NCAA National Tournament in 2019, their third consecutive tournament appearance and fourth in five seasons. In 2019 the Mustangs reached their thirteenth Elite Eight before falling to No.1 Seed Virginia 3–2 in overtime. The Mustangs also claimed their third consecutive American Athletic Conference Tournament Title defeating Central Florida 1–0 in Orlando. This was the third consecutive year UCF and SMU meet in the AAC Tournament final as the Mustangs claimed their fifth conference title over the last three seasons. In 2017, the Mustangs reached the round of sixteen for the 18th time in program history. In 2017, they also became the first program in American Athletic Conference history to claim both the regular season and conference tournament championship, a feat they repeated in 2018 defeating Temple 2–1 in the final game of the regular season and defeating UCF in a shootout in Orlando in the AAC Tournament Final. The Mustangs have been one of the top men's collegiate sides in the NCAA since being founded in 1975, and are regularly featured in Top 25 polls. The Mustangs used to be coached by former
FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the le ...
and current Grand Canyon University coach
Schellas Hyndman Schellas Hyndman (born November 4, 1951) is a retired soccer coach. He was previously head coach of FC Dallas in Major League Soccer. Despite having a limited career as a professional athlete, Hyndman is one of the most successful college socc ...
. Current FC Dallas coach Luchi Gonzalez played for the Mustangs from 1998 to 2001.


History

During the 2006 season, the SMU men's soccer program was ranked No. 1 in the nation for four consecutive weeks. The team sat atop the four national polls with a record of 13-0-2 in the Adidas/NSCA poll, SoccerTimes.com poll,
Soccer America Magazine ''Soccer America'', the oldest soccer-specific media publisher in the US, was founded in 1971 by Clay Berling in Albany, California. The magazine is headquartered in Oakland, California. History and profile The magazine was founded by Clay Be ...
poll, and the CollegeSoccerNews.com poll. Concurrently, the SMU women's soccer program cracked the top 25, at No. 22 in the Adidas/NSCA poll and No. 19 in the SoccerTimes.com poll. On November 6, 2006, the SMU men's soccer team finished the regular season ranked No. 2 in the nation. Additionally, SMU won the C-USA title game, beating
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
2–0 in
Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...
. This C-USA championship win is the sixth conference title for SMU since 1997. The SMU men's soccer team finished the 2010 season with an overall record of 16-2-2. The Mustangs finished the season strong with a trip to the Elite Eight where they lost to
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
in a penalty kick shootout. In 2015, the Mustangs were led by first year head coach Kevin Hudson to the regular season American Athletic Conference title and reached the Round of 16 in the NCAA National Tournament where they were eliminated by Akron 2–1. The Mustangs finished the 2017 season ranked No. 10 in the Top Drawer Soccer Rankings with an overall record of 17-3-1. They became the first program in American Athletic Conference history to claim the "double", winning both the regular season and conference tournament when they defeated the University of Central Florida 2–1 in Dallas. On January 20, 2018, SMU had two players selected in the 2018 MLS draft with Michael Nelson being selected by the Huston Dynamo with the 20th overall pick and Mauro Cichero being selected by FC Dallas with the 29th overall pick. SMU Defender
Jordan Cano Jordan Cano (born February 3, 1996) is an American soccer player. Career College Cano played four years of college soccer at Southern Methodist University between 2014 and 2017, making 75 appearances for the Mustangs. He was named American A ...
signed as a homegrown player for FC Dallas prior to the draft bringing the total to three players entering the MLS from the 2017 team. In 2018, the Mustangs once again had a first round draft MLS Superdraft Selection as midfielder Emil Cuello was selected 19th overall by the LA Galaxy. After their most recent season, the Mustangs had a player taken in the first round of the MLS Superdraft for the third consecutive year as Garrett McLaughlin was selected eighth overall by the Houston Dynamo. Hermann Trophy and First-Team All American Eddie Munjoma was also signed to a MLS Homegrown contract by FC Dallas while defender Phil Ponder was signed to USL contract by North Texas SC. The Mustangs finished the 2020 campaign ranked at No. 5 in the TopDrawer Soccer Poll, No. 7 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, and No. 3 in the NCAA RPI Index.


Stadium

Built in 1994,
Westcott Field Westcott Field is a stadium in University Park, Texas (an enclave of Dallas, Texas, Dallas) on the campus of Southern Methodist University. The 4,000-seat stadium is home to SMU SMU Mustangs men's soccer, men's and women's soccer. SMU has some fam ...
is the home venue for the SMU Mustangs men's and women's soccer team. The stadium seats 4,000. In the spring of 2020, SMU announced a $5 Million dollar gift was given by SMU Alums Heather and Ray W. Washburne for the creation of the Washburn Soccer and Track Stadium. The 1,800 seat and 2,500 overall capacity facility will provide the Mustangs with one of the best college soccer stadiums in the country.


Fans


Rivalries

While SMU is traditionally rivals with TCU (Texas Christian University), University of Texas in Austin, Texas A&M, Rice, University of Houston and UTEP, these fellow schools do not fund varsity soccer programs, thus hindering the rivalry on the soccer field for the Mustangs. SMU and TCU were rivals when TCU did field a team for many years. TCU's team was an NCAA Division 1 program up until the enforcement of
Title IX Title IX is the most commonly used name for the federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other educat ...
in the late 1990s to early 2000s. Due to the enforcement of Title IX, TCU lost their men's division 1 men's soccer program and it was converted to a club team only. TCU does continue to field a women's division 1 program. SMU and TCU played many battles throughout the years for the bragging rights of who was the stronger program in the Dallas/FT Worth metroplex. Generally, they would play one home and one away game against TCU per season. Some of the battles were very close but for the most part SMU was the stronger program due to the fact they had better funding for their soccer program (scholarship money) and thus were able to recruit higher level players. Currently, their main rivals in soccer due to geographic proximity are the
Tulsa Golden Hurricane The Golden Hurricane are the athletic teams that represent the University of Tulsa. These teams are referred to as the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (or variously as TU or Tulsa). Before adopting the name Golden Hurricane in 1922, the University of T ...
and Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas.


Roster


2020–21 squad


Team Management

;Coaching Staff


Head coaches

:''Statistics correct as of the end of the 2018 NCAA Division I men's soccer season''


References


External links

* {{American Athletic Conference men's soccer navbox 1975 establishments in Texas