Men's Soccer loses to #8 Pitt

[EastStang]

Our soccer team also got a taste of the ACC this weekend losing at home 3-1. We definitely need to put our big boy shorts on for this conference.

[PonyPride]

Sorry — meant to post this (and video) the other night, but was having internet issues.

SMU jumped out to an early lead on a beautiful goal in the seventh minute by sophomore midfielder Jaylinn Mitchell, and really had the better run of play for a while, but also had a couple of costly miscommunications on the back end that led to Pitt goals, after which the Mustangs were really chasing the game.

The Ponies held their own against an outstanding Denver team last week (2-2 draw) and Pitt, but you're absolutely right, EastStang — this conference is a gauntlet of heavyweight opponents.



No. 22 SMU Drops ACC Opener To No. 8 Pitt

DALLAS (SMU) — No. 22 SMU fell 3-1 to No. 8 Pitt in its Atlantic Coast Conference debut at Washburne Stadium on Saturday.

The Mustangs took the early lead with Jaylinn Mitchell's goal in the seventh minute. Bailey Sparks crafted the goalscoring opportunity, posting his third assist of the season. Mitchell's goal marks SMU's first ACC goal in history.

After the halftime break, Pittsburgh closed the deficit in the 54th minute and proceeded to score two more goals in the 65th and 75th minutes to take the win.

SMU is now 2-1-2 after the third week of the season. They went 1-1-1 in the last three matches against three teams ranked in the nation's top 10.

How It Happened
The Mustangs scored the opener in the seventh with a goal from the reigning ACC Offensive Player of the Week, Mitchell. Sparks set up the goal with a through-ball pass to pry the Panthers' defense before Mitchell's shot from the right shook the far side of the goal net.

The goal was Mitchell's second of the season and his third goal for SMU. Sparks' assist was his third of the season.

The scoreline remained 1-0 after the first 45 minutes, with SMU recording six shots to Pitt's five.

Within 10 minutes of the second half, Pitt leveled the score in the 54th minute with a tap-in of a cross served from the left wing.

Both teams got a fair share of chances following the equalizer, but the score remained 1-1 until the 65th minute when Pitt took the lead with a goal from Casper Grening.

Nikola Djordjevic's shot from outside the penalty box in the 74th minute was the Mustangs' biggest opportunity to even the scoreline, but the shot was slightly off-target, hitting the crossbar. The visitors extended the lead in the 75th minute with a counterattack from the left wing.

SMU stayed on offense and made four more shots in the final 10 minutes of the match, but the scoreline remained 3-1 for the visitors.

Other Notes

Sparks is involved in one goal in all five matches this season (two goals and three assists).
Mitchell has made a goal contribution in three consecutive matches (two goals and one assist).

SMU outshot Pitt 19 to 14. They have made 10 or more shots in four out of the five matches this season.

The Mustangs have scored one or more goals in 25 consecutive matches.

The last time the Mustangs lost a conference opener match was in 2022, when they ended the season 10-6-1 and made a second-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Up Next

The Mustangs will resume ACC play in their first road match of the season at Cal, Sep. 13.

[PonyPride]

... and, from the "Better Late Than Never" Department:

SMU men's soccer head coach Kevin Hudson met the media after the Mustangs fell, 3-1, to Pitt in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for each team.