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VIDEO: Hudson, Ponder after SMU wins share of AAC title

PostPosted: Sat Nov 03, 2018 1:01 pm
by PonyPride
SMU men's soccer head coach Kevin Hudson and defender Philip Ponder visited with PonyFans.com after Ponder scored twice to help lead the Mustangs to a 2-1 win over Temple and a share of the American Athletic Conference regular-season championship.





From SMUMustangs.com:

DALLAS (SMU) – SMU defeated Temple, 2-1, Friday night in front of packed crowd at Westcott Field on senior night to win a share of the American Athletic Conference regular-season title for the second-straight season after taking the outright crown last season.

Friday's title is SMU's third in the past five seasons, with head coach Kevin Hudson's squad looking to repeat as tournament champions next week. The Mustangs feature the conference's top defense, allowing just 12 goals on the season with a 0.82 goals against average.

SMU tied UCF with 16 points to close the regular season. By virtue of UCF's 2-0 win over the Mustangs on Sept. 28, the UCF Track & Soccer Complex in Orlando, Fla. will serve as the site for next week's Championship.

The Mustangs clinched the No. 2 seed and will play the winner of USF and Memphis in the American Men's Soccer Championship Semifinals Nov. 8.

After a scoreless first half, junior defender Philip Ponder drilled the ball to the lower left corner of the net off an assist from senior midfielder Emil Cuello in the 59th minute to give the Mustangs a 1-0 advantage. The goal was Ponder's second of the season since his return from injury.

Temple evened the score in the 70th minute off of an own goal, but Ponder scored the game-winning goal, his second on the night, with assists from sophomore defender Talen Maples and junior defender Eddie Munjoma, to lead SMU to a 2-1 victory.

The Mustangs outshot the Owls 23-11, including an 8-2 advantage on shots on goal.

SMU's backline has played a major role this season and did so again with a title on the line. Temple was held to 11 shots with only two on goal.

With the win, SMU finished the regular-season 9-4-2 overall and 5-1-1 in conference play, while Temple fell to 5-9-4 and 2-4-1 in the league play. The Owls will be the No. 5 seed in conference tournament.

2018 American Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Championship Schedule
Host: UCF

Tuesday, Nov. 6 – First Round
Game 1: No. 3 USF vs. No. 6 Memphis – 4:30 p.m. ET
Game 2: No. 4 UConn vs. No. 5 Temple – 7 p.m. ET

Thursday, Nov. 8 – Semifinals
Game 3: Winner Game 1 vs. No. 2 SMU – 4:30 p.m. ET
Game 4: Winner Game 2 vs. No. 1 UCF – 7 p.m. ET

Saturday, Nov. 10 – Championship
Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4