For the SMU men’s soccer team, it appears things are back to normal … or at least headed that way.

For the better part of three decades, men’s soccer was among SMU’s strongest sports, and the Mustangs always ranked among the nation’s elite teams.

Freshman forward Juan Castillo leads his team, and is tied for third in the country, with six goals through his first seven games (photo by SMU athletics).

But in 2009, the Ponies found themselves in an unfamiliar position: they were an average team. Because of a number of factors — injuries, inconsistent play, even bad luck — the team’s record dipped last season to a very un-SMU-like 6-8-2.

Now in his third year at the helm, head coach Tim McClements has the Mustangs back among the top-ranked teams in the nation. After starting the season unranked in wake of last year’s swoon, the Ponies have raced out of the gates with a 7-0-0 start (becoming the first team in the country to win seven games this year) and shot up to the No. 9 spot in the current NSCAA (National Soccer Coaches Association of America) rankings.

The Ponies are in Birmingham, Ala., where they will face Conference USA rival UAB Friday night before closing out the non-conference portion of their schedule Sunday against Jacksonville.

The reasons for the turnaround are several, but include the fact that several upperclassmen who were banged up a year ago are now healthy, and the team also is getting major contributions from a handful of gifted newcomers. Freshmen Juan Castillo, Robbie Derschang, Zach Barnes, A.J. Corrado and Chris Sendejas have accounted for 13 goals through seven games; last year, SMU got no goals from freshmen all season.

“We really are trying to take this day by day,” McClements said. “We have a young group that’s very talented, and an older group that’s very talented and also experienced.

“The older guys, they’ve been through the ups and downs. As a group, they really have kept a level head, they have a lot of steel. The fact that we haven’t lost is nice, but that’s not our focus. Our focus today is UAB. After that, our focus will be Jacksonville — not extending the streak.”

Of equal importance as the increased offense is a stingier defensive unit, Last year, SMU gave up 1.57 goals per game; through seven games, senior goalkeeper Craig Hill’s goals-against average has dipped to 0.96 per game.

A lot of attention is being paid to the freshmen, especially Castillo, whose six goals are tied for the third-highest total in the nation heading into the weekend and whose 13 points are tied for the fifth-highest total in the nation.

“There’s no doubt it’s a good group (of freshmen),” McClements said. “There’s no doubt their talented. But what makes this group good to work with is the fact that they’re incredibly humble. They know they have a lot to learn, and that the team can get a lot better.”

McClements added that those who think the Mustangs’ freshman class is the sole reason for the team’s early success are not seeing the big picture.

“Those (freshmen) have played very well, but if I through all freshmen out there at the same time, it’s not going to work,” McClements said. “The older players are the key to our success to this point. They’re the ones keeping the train on the tracks.”

One of the team’s elder statesmen, senior midfielder and co-captain Kekoa Osorio, said that part of the team’s success has to be credited to the offseason work put in by a lot of the returning players.

“We put in all of the work over the summer,” Osorio said. “The core of us — a lot of the upper classmen — worked out every day since the end of spring.

“(Assistant coach) Phil (Wolf) talked to us, saying he knows we’re better than we played last year, we deserve to play better and we owe it to this program to play better than we did last year.”

To follow through on that, most of the veteran players convened on their own immediately after the conclusion of the team’s spring workouts. They would play and do drills as a group, and then head to the weight room to work with assistant strength and conditioning coach Lou Dobosenski.

The group worked out throughout the summer and turned it up a notch before preseason camp started. Osorio said the increased intensity has carried over to make the Ponies a vastly improved team.

Senior goalkeeper Craig Hill's goals-against average has dipped to 0.96 this season (photo by SMU athletics).

“For about two weeks before camp started, we had ‘captains’ practices’ — we played for about two hours every day, just so everybody was on the same page,” Osorio said. “Everyone went hard — even the new guys, because we told them to go hard.

“We have to push each other, because that makes everyone. I told them to push me until the coaches have a hard decision to make. The only way we’re going to keep working to get better is if we’re pushed for our jobs.”

McClements and Osorio are quick to point out that while the seven-game ride to start the season has been enjoyable, the Ponies have a long way to go in a season that includes some very strong Conference USA opponents, including UAB Friday night, Tulsa (currently ranked No. 2 in the NCAA poll), South Carolina and Kentucky.

McClements said that if the team is going to continue to win, the players will have to continue their unselfish nature; several players have willingly moved to new positions, while others have found themselves sharing minutes more than in years past.

“The fact that these guys all have embraced their roles is a real tribute to them,” McClements said. “They do whatever it takes to make this team successful. (Preseason All-Conference USA honoree) Payton Hickey has played right back, left back and in the midfield — wherever we need him. (Former forward/midfielder) Diogo de Almeida has moved back to a defender’s spot, and he has done a good job for us. Josue Soto has played up front and in the midfield, and has come off the bench for us.

“Those are the things that make teams successful. You have to put the team ahead of the individuals, and these guys are doing that. We’ve done some good things so far, but we still have to get better before we get where we want to be.”