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NCAA GAME REPORT: SMU 2, New Mexico 0

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NCAA GAME REPORT: SMU 2, New Mexico 0

Postby PonyPride » Sun Nov 25, 2001 7:54 pm

SMU men's soccer head coach Schellas Hyndman said the Mustangs' performance Sunday afternoon was "not a very good game" by the Ponies, but the talent differential was enough as SMU cruised to a 2-0 win over New Mexico in the second round of the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament.

The Mustangs, now 20-0-0 and still ranked No. 1 in the nation, got on the scoreboard in the 10th minute when sophomore midfielder Kevin Hudson sent a long pass through the middle of the UNM defense to Luchi Gonzalez, where the senior forward and Hermann Award finalist slipped it past Lobo goalkeeper Andrew Weber to give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead.

"They're good. They're very quick with the ball, and they played well," Weber said of the SMU offense. "On their first goal, I should have come out quicker, but I didn't, and he buried it."

The Ponies then battled a UNM scheme that seems to be the plan of attack for most defenses facing SMU, which finished the season as the nation's No. 2 offense. The Lobos pulled 10 players back on defense, basically playing a style designed to avoid getting blown out, and hoping to catch the Ponies off-guard with counter-attacks. The plan failed.

SMU iced the game in the 83rd minute, when senior forward Mishu Fahim (another Hermann Award finalist) was taken down in the penalty box, earning the Mustangs a penalty kick. Junior midfielder Diego Walsh (yet another Hermann finalist) buried the PK to put SMU ahead, 2-0.

The Mustangs had many chances to extend their lead. Fahim had two breakaways against Weber but was unable to get his shot on goal. Walsh also slipped past the UNM defense for a breakaway, but his shot was well wide of the net.

"I thought their keeper was going to come out faster than he did," Walsh said of the breakaway. "I wanted to try to 'dribble' him, but when he didn't come out quicker, I tried to poke it by him, and missed."

Walsh said he was pleased the Ponies were able to advance on a day when their performance bordered on the lethargic.

"After our first goal, I think we relaxed a little bit," Walsh said. "I thought I had a bad game, but I'm glad we were able to put them away."

The SMU defense, often overshadowed by the Ponies' potent offense, allowed just one shot on goal.

Hyndman said the long period of time during which the Ponies maintained their 1-0 lead didn't exactly make the Mustangs nervous.

"Not nervousness, really .... more frustration," he said. "Our thought was that we would tire them out, especially when they were going into the wind, but New Mexico played hard the whole game.

"For the first 20 minutes or so, I thought they were scared of us, maybe a little intimidated by us. I could almost see it in their eyes during the national anthem. This team (SMU) didn't play very good, but we still were able to win."

SMU advances to the third round of the NCAA Tournament, and will face the winner of Sunday evening's UCLA/San Diego game next weekend, presumably at Westcott Field. Log on to <A HREF="http://www.PonyFans.com" TARGET=_blank>www.PonyFans.com</A> to find out the time and the Ponies' next opponent.
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