PonyFans.comBoard IndexAround the HilltopFootballRecruitingBasketballOther Sports

Men's soccer: #1 SMU 4, Creighton 2

Soccer, swimming, tennis, track and field - anything not covered above gets discussed here.

Moderators: PonyPride, SmooPower

Men's soccer: #1 SMU 4, Creighton 2

Postby PonyPride » Sun Oct 14, 2001 10:02 pm

SMU offense overwhelms Blue Jays, keeps Ponies' record perfect
<A HREF="http://www.PonyFans.com" TARGET=_blank>www.PonyFans.com</A>

The men's soccer team's game Sunday against longtime rival Creighton had all the makings of an upset. The teams aren't overly fond of each other. Creighton was coming off a 2-0 loss at Tulsa Friday night. The Blue Jays were better rested because SMU's game against Drake, originally set for Friday night, got postponed to Saturday afternoon.

When the teams met Sunday afternoon in front of an announced crowd of 2,466, emotions were high, and it nearly cost SMU. In just the second minute of the game, SMU goalkeeper Byron Foss hesitated for a second while coming out to collect a loose ball. Creighton's Mike Tranchilla beat him to the ball, sidestepped around him and fed teammate Keith Sawarynski, who put the Blue Jays ahead, 1-0.

The lead held up until halftime. SMU got the equalizer in the 52nd minute when forward Mohamed Fahim scored off assists from forward Luchi Gonzalez and midfielder Diego Walsh. Then, in the 53rd minute, SMU scored one of the prettiest goals of the season, when freshman defender Ugo Ihemelu threw the ball in to Walsh, who whirled and picked it out of the air, blasting it past CU goalkeeper Andrew Brown.

The Ponies appeared to put the game out of reach in the 63rd minute when Bryan Doi stole a pass, froze two CU defenders with a series of quick fakes and then fed Gonzalez, who made the score 3-1.

But the Blue Jays refused to fold up, tallying their second goal of the game in the 82nd minute when Tranchilla set up Tiago Venturi, whose goal made the score 3-2.

But the Ponies got the clincher just two minutes later. As the Mustangs broke out of their own end, Walsh outfought two Blue Jays for possession, and rather than simply collect the ball and hold it, he fired a long pass downfield to Fahim, who subsequently was hauled down in the penalty box. Walsh converted the ensuing penalty kick for his second goal of the game, and the Ponies maintained their perfect record, improving to 11-0.

"We knew this game would be tough -- it always is when we play Creighton," SMU head coach Schellas Hyndman said. "I thought we played well enough in the first half to score a goal, but we didn't get one. In the second half, we went to a higher pressure. I asked them at halftime if they were going to press more, and if they weren't, I was going to start changing players."

The tactic worked, as the Ponies played a much faster pace in the second half, forcing the Jays into errant passes and a scrambling mode on defense, as the Mustangs outshot their visitors, 13-6.

"One of the things I wanted to do after last year was improve our defense, and giving up two goals doesn't make me too happy," Hyndman said. "But I liked the way we responded. Their coach (Bob Warming) came to me after the game and said we might have the best Dividion I team he's ever seen, and he's been coaching 20 years. We just have a lot of talent, and it came through today."
PonyFans.com ... is really the premier place for Mustang talk on the Web.
New York Times

https://www.facebook.com/PonyFanscom/

twitter.com/PonyFans

https://www.instagram.com/ponyfans_staff/
User avatar
PonyPride
PonyFans.com Super Legend
 
Posts: 19836
Joined: Sat Apr 01, 2000 4:01 am
Location: Dallas, Texas

Return to Other Sports

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 4 guests