Men's soccer blanks Oral Roberts

[PonyPride]

Penalty kick salvages win over upstart ORU
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Sophomore forward Duke Hashimoto was dragged down in the 101st minute -- the first minute of the second overtime period -- and freshman midfielder Ramon Nuñez converted the ensuing penalty kick to give the SMU men's soccer team a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Oral Roberts in the first round of the SMU/Mi Cocina Classic at SMU's Westcott Field.

Nuñez's goal ended a game that SMU head coach Schellas Hyndman said was every bit as close as he expected.

"They're a very good team, a very athletic team" Hyndman said of ORU. "They were very focused on not getting beat tonight. They played with a lot of heart and courage."

The statistics for the game would not indicate the game was close, as the Ponies registered 12 shots on goal, as opposed to the single shot on goal mustered by the Eagles (a shot that SMU goalkeeper T.J. Tomasso was able to deflect over the crossbar), and much of the game was spent in front of the ORU goal. But the Eagles frustrated the SMU offense by packing nearly their entire team back on defense, and then breaking downfield on counterattacks.

Despite the one-goal margin, Hyndman said he was pleased with his team's effort.

"I thought we played well," he said. "The intensity was there, the speed was there -- we did a lot of things right. There were a lot of (scoring) chances that were very close. It was a wet field, there was a full moon.... "

The game marked the home debut for the 2003 freshmen, including Nuñez, the much-ballyhooed midfielder from Dallas' W.T. White High School, who has been labeled by some as the best recruit in the nation this year.

"He's young -- he's only 17," Hyndman said of his new playmaker. "He just sees the game so much faster than most players. Obviously, he needs to grow into the college game a bit and get used to his teammates."

Two other freshmen had significant nights: defender Mynor Gonzalez temporarily left the field after suffering what Hyndman called a hip bruise, but was able to remain in the game. And Jay Needham turned in a stellar performance at sweeper -- the last line of defense before a team's goalkeeper and a position coaches rarely turn over to a first-year player.

"Don't underestimate Jay Needham," Hyndman said. "He's an outstanding player. He's extremely composed back there, extremely solid. When (opponents) shut down our flanks (outside defenders), we want him bringing the ball forward, and that's rare with such a young player. But he's a very solid defender -- he looks really comfortable, very mature."

The Mustangs return to the field Saturday night at 7:30 when they host New Mexico in the final of the SMU/Mi Cocina Classic.

[PonyGirl]

My thoughts tonight -

- Jay Needham was the best of the freshmen, and might have been the best play out there overall. He was great.

- T.J. Tomasso didn't get challenged all night except for that one shot he had to block, and it would have been real easy to fall asleep and let that one in, because it was a real tough shot.

- Except for Needham, the defense looked a little out of sync. Ugo and Ross Spencer were good, but they looked like they weren't communicating, or like they had different ideas about what the coaches wanted on defense. The other freshman (Gonzalez) looked pretty good. (Weird - the freshmen outplayed the older guys?)

- It won't be a secret much longer: David Chun is going to be a star.

[MustangFan]

I agree with PonyGirl - Jay Needham was the best player on the field last night.

Nunez has some learning to do, but his skills are scary. He looks like a smaller, quicker version of Diego Walsh, and Diego was the best player I've ever seen at SMU. If Ramon turns out to be anywhere near as good as Diego, we've got a real stud on our hands.

[Pony4Life]

Got to disagree with you guys. Duke Hashimoto was the team's only offensive threat last night. Not only did he set up the goal by making 2 or 3 ORU defenders take him down in the box, but he also was the most aggressive attacker and never slowed down, despite constant defensive attention and the fact that he was getting mugged by a defender twice his size. If his frame matched his heart, Duke would be an all-America.