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Men's Soccer wins NCAA Tournament opener

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Men's Soccer wins NCAA Tournament opener

Postby PonyPride » Sun Nov 19, 2000 2:13 am

Mustangs blank IUPUI, 2-0, in NCAA opener



The sixth-seeded SMU men's soccer team shut out the Jaguars of Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI), 2-0, Friday night at Westcott Field in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, known as the 2000 Men's College Cup.

The Mustangs advance to play the Kentucky Wildcats in the second round in a game that likely will be a home contest for the Ponies next weekend. (The official announcement of the game's location and time will be made by the NCAA Monday morning.) The Wildcats advanced after a first-round game at St. Louis that technically ended after four overtime periods in a scoreless tie. But the Wildcats eliminated the Mustangs' long-time rival on penalty kicks.

The Mustangs got their goals from midfielders Diego Walsh and Matt Whitely. Walsh scored in the 29th minute when he collected a pass from junior forward Mohamed Fahim, juked his way past three IUPUI defenders and blasted a 20-yard shot past the Jaguars' exceptional goalkeeper, Armando Femia. Whiteley's goal came in the 62nd minute when he pounced on a rebound and banged a shot past Femia just inside the left goalpost.

The score of Friday's SMU win over the Jaguars was more indicative of the IUPUI strategy of packing almost its entire team in the defensive end to prevent an SMU blowout, rather than the actual difference in talent between the teams.

"I thought the boys played very well tonight," SMU head coach Schellas Hyndman said. "I thought (junior midfielder) Carl Bussey played very well tonight defensively, and (sophomore defender) Kevin Friendland had a very good game, considering he doesn't normally start.

"And I thought Diego was special tonight. He not only scored a goal -- he also hit the goalpost in the second half and was everywhere for us tonight."

The Jaguars, who qualified for the tournament by winning the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament, were well aware that as they got ready to play their school's first NCAA game in any sport, they were preparing to face the best offensive team in the country.

"I want to congratulate the SMU Mustangs," IUPUI head coach Steve Franklin said. "Schellas (Hyndman) has an outstanding group of attacking players who also defend very well. They have an outstanding leader in Carl Bussey -- he really runs the show out there for them. We haven't run into a field general who can control a game like he does and who has as many weapons as he does. And Diego Walsh really hurt us from his attacking position. His (Missouri Valley Conference) Player of the Year accolades obviously are well-deserved."

While Schmidt showered the Mustangs with praise, Hyndman was equally generous with his compliments for the Jaguars, particularly when discussing the performance Femia turned in between the IUPUI pipes.

"He was outstanding," Hyndman said. "He's won games for them this year. I thought Diego (Walsh) was the best player on the field tonight, but their goalkeeper was a close second."

Femia faced 25 shots from the SMU offense and made 14 saves, compared to the seven fired at SMU netminder Byron Foss, who only needed to make a single save. Femia said that in Fahim and Luchi Gonzalez, the Jaguars were facing the best pair of forwards against which he ever has played.

"We've never played two forwards like that," Femia said. "Constant pressure, a lot of shots -- they're great players. I thought our defense did a great job on them. They didn't score."

The Mustangs' biggest problem in preparing for the Jaguars may have been a lack of familiarity with their first-round opponent.

"We didn't know a lot about them," Foss said. "After we got the draw, we were pretty excited. Not that we thought they wouldn't be a good team -- every team in the tournament is a good team. But we couldn't have had a better draw. I hadn't even heard of the school, much less heard of their soccer team. But coaches can only tell you so much about a team. You have to react to the game, to what comes at you."

Walsh said that prior to the game, Hyndman warned his team about the danger of looking past the Jaguars to a potential second-round matchup with St. Louis.

"He said something about that," Walsh said. "But we know we have to win ever game as we go."

"If you can't motivate yourself for a tournament game," Foss said, "it doesn't matter who you play."

The Mustangs, who finished the regular season ranked No. 10 in the final National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll, improved to 18-4 this year. The Jaguars ended their season with a record of 11-9-2.

[This message has been edited by PonyPride (edited 11-19-2000).]
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Re: Men's Soccer wins NCAA Tournament opener

Postby PonyGirl » Sun Nov 19, 2000 4:41 pm

Way to go Mustangs!

PonyFans, this is the best team in the country, and the highest-scoring team in the nation, too. Even for those who don't know much about soccer, this is a team that is WELL worth coming out to see. This weekend's game against Kentucky COULD be the last home game of the year, so even though it's Thanksgiving weekend, bring the family out and watch the Mustangs trample the Wildcats.
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