Women's Soccer - SMU vs. Tulsa

[Otto]

Wow. Gaines just high after a cheeky backheel from Redman.

A what? Is that curable?

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

Current standings, Rice-UH 1-1 in 2nd, CC-UTEP 0-0 early.

1. 31 (10-0-1) Memphis (x)
2. 22 (7-2-1) Colorado College (x)
3. 22 (7-3-1) SMU (x)
4. 21 (6-2-3) UCF (x)
5. 15 (5-5-0) East Carolina
6. 14 (4-4-2) UTEP (x)
7. 14 (4-5-2) Tulsa (x)
8. 13 (4-5-1) Rice
-----------
9. 10 (3-6-1) Houston
10. 8 (2-7-2) Marshall
11. 7 (2-7-1) UAB
12. 4 (1-9-1) Southern Miss

Top 4 seeds are set. If Rice or UTEP wins tonight we won't know who we play until after the ECU-UAB game on Sunday. If they both lose we get whoever wins the UTEP-Tulsa tiebreaker. Will worry about draws later tonight if necessary...

[Otto]

Thanks, Dan, for your reports. I wish every PonyFan were as dedicated and consistently supportive as you are.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

Gametracker is still stuck but Tulsa has the final box score on their web site.

Final stats:

Shots: SMU 7, Tulsa 10
Shots on goal: SMU 5, Tulsa 4
Corners: SMU 2, Tulsa 2
Fouls: SMU 21, Tulsa 9 !!!!!!!!!!
Yellows: SMU 2, Tulsa 1 (Eidson got one for a hard tackle, Bartol got one for standing over the ball on a Tulsa free kick. The Tulsa one was just for dissent)

So Tulsa definitely had more of the offense in the second half, but couldn't really put much on frame. Webb did have at least 2 reasonably big saves (or at least nice plays preventing an offensive opportunity) in the second half - and Tulsa did hit a post.

The foul total is ridiculous.

Still a nice win for SMU. Every single C-USA game this year (other than the draw with Memphis and our 3-1 win over Southern Miss) was a one-goal game.

Memphis is obviously head and shoulders above the rest of the conference, and people still seem to think UCF is really good - but this C-USA tournament really shapes up to be wide open. It is great for the SMUs and CCs of the world to have Memphis and UCF on the 1-4 side of the bracket.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

Oh well, Rice survives with a 1-1 draw against Houston:

1. 31 (10-0-1) Memphis
2. 22 (7-2-1) Colorado College
3. 22 (7-3-1) SMU
4. 21 (6-2-3) UCF
5. 15 (5-5-0) East Carolina
6. 14 (4-4-2) UTEP
7. 14 (4-5-2) Tulsa
7. 14 (4-5-2) Rice

CC is still up 1-0 on UTEP (61st minute) so we could very well have a 3-way tie for 6th...

On the bright side it looks like we will know who we play in the first round tonight which will give us a couple of extra days of preparation.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

CC held on for a 1-0 victory at UTEP - so there is a 3-way tie for 6th:

1. 31 (10-0-1) Memphis
2. 25 (8-2-1) Colorado College
3. 22 (7-3-1) SMU
4. 21 (6-2-3) UCF
5. 15 (5-5-0) East Carolina
6. 14 (4-5-2) UTEP
6. 14 (4-5-2) Tulsa
6. 14 (4-5-2) Rice

The ECU-UAB game Sunday is inconsequential for any seeding purposes as well. I guess we will wait and see how C-USA seeds 6-8.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

In games between Rice/UTEP/Tulsa, the results were:

Rice 2, Tulsa 0
Rice 2, UTEP 2
Tulsa 1, UTEP 1

Rice 1-0-1
UTEP 0-0-2
Tulsa 0-1-1

So, I think it is safe to assume Rice will get the 6 seed and play us.

No idea how they decide the 7-8 between UTEP and Tulsa since they played to a draw.

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

SMU Tops Tulsa 2-1 In Final Regular Season Match
Mustangs capture No. 3 seed at C-USA Championship

Oct. 28, 2011

DALLAS (SMU) - The SMU women's soccer team wrapped up the regular season tonight with a 2-1 win over rival Tulsa at Hurricane Stadium. The win moves the Mustangs to 11-7-1 on the season and 7-3-1 in Conference USA, while Tulsa drops to 10-7-3 overall and 4-5-2 in the league.

SMU came out quick, jumping out to 2-0 lead 20 minutes into the match.

After a Tulsa foul 40 yards out from the Hurricane net, Courtney Smith sent a ball into the box that Briana Gaines headed in for the game's opening goal in the 12th minute. The tally was the freshman's fourth of the season and third in the last two games.

Eight minutes later, Olivia Elliott punched in a shot from two yards out to make the game 2-0. The goal was Elliott's fourth on the year.

Just over a minute later, Claire Hulcer cut into the Mustangs' lead with a shot from 20 yards out that found the back of the net.

"We started off the game playing very well and created some great chances and got two goals early," SMU head coach Brent Erwin said. "We didn't play at that same high level all game, but did a great job to get a big win on the road. Credit to Tulsa as it was their homecoming and senior night and they scored a good goal and fought hard."

SMU held Tulsa scoreless for the remainder of the match to hold on for the one-goal victory. The Mustangs held a 5-4 edge in shots on goal with Gaines leading the way with two.

With the win, SMU secured the No. 3 seed in 2011 Conference USA Women's Soccer Championship beginning on Wednesday, Nov. 2. The Mustangs match time and opponent are still yet to be determined.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

SMU plays Rice Wednesday at 2:30pm.

http://conferenceusa.cstv.com/sports/w-soccer/spec-rel/102911aab.html

2011 CONFERENCE USA CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH SCHEDULE

Wednesday, November 2
Match 1 - (2) Colorado College vs. (7) UTEP - Noon
Match 2 - (3) SMU vs. (6) Rice - 2:30 p.m.
Match 3 - (4) UCF vs. (5) East Carolina - 5:30 p.m.
Match 4 - (1) Memphis vs. (8) Tulsa - 8 p.m.

Friday, November 4 (Semifinals)
Match 5 - Match 1 winner vs. Match 2 winner - 5 p.m.
Match 6 - Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner - 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, November 6 (Finals)
Match 7 - Semifinal Winners - 1 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)

All times are Central.
All Matches played at Mike Rose Soccer Complex (Memphis, Tenn.)

[HorsePower]

Beat the Owls!