VIDEO: Kevin Hudson after SMU falls in OT to Temple
Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2021 2:45 amFrom SMUMustangs.com:
DALLAS (SMU) – SMU fell, 2-1, to Temple at the Washburne Soccer and Track Stadium in a hard-fought match, which saw SMU dominate in every offensive category.
The Mustangs (5-5-0, 5-5-0) outshot the Owls (5-4-1, 5-4-1 AAC), 22-9 overall and had nine shots on goal to Temple's six. Ten of SMU's shots came in the first half, with six of those on goal, but both teams headed into the break scoreless.
SMU came out strong in the second half, finishing the second 45 minutes with 12 shots and multiple near-misses. Skage Simonsen led the offensive efforts with six shots, three on goal. Gabriel Costa had five shots with one on goal and Papa Ndoye finished with three shots, two of which were on goal.
In the 85th minute, Temple put the first goal of the night on the board when Amir Cohen converted a penalty kick after drawing a foul from keeper Cole Johnson in the box.
Simonsen responded for SMU in the 87th after settling the ball and sending it into the bottom left hand corner of the net. His goal tied the match at one, sending action into overtime for the first time this season.
The Mustangs took possession first and made their way into Owl territory before Temple took over. The Owls earned back-to-back corner kicks off SMU deflections and found their chance after the second. Mike Eijgendaal scored the golden goal for Temple in the 93rd minute off a deflection after Johnson saved Cohen's initial shot.
Before the game, SMU recognized its seniors. The 2020-21 senior class helped SMU to two regular season conference championships and three conference tournament championships during their time on the Hilltop.
"I'm proud of those guys," head coach Kevin Hudson said about the senior class. "It's a really good group and they're great people. They've made SMU soccer a better place for them being a part of this. We appreciate everything they've done."
Saturday's result puts SMU in the No. 4 spot for the American Athletic Conference Championship next week. The Mustangs will face No. 1 seed UCF in the semifinals on Thursday, April 15 at 6 p.m. CT in Orlando, Florida. All tournament matches will be streamed on ESPN+.