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These guys are on the rise!! Man it's great to see this.

http://www.smumustangs.com/news/news_re ... sp?id=4136

atleast of the mustangs are keeping our pride high

That's awesome. I haven't been to any games this year, but can someone who has answer this: how does this year's team compare to the 2001 team? (21-1-0, ranked #1 most of the year, only loss was in national quarterfinals)

Virginia (#3) is a great team. But I'd love to see us get a crack at UC-Santa Barbara or UNC-Greensboro.

MustangStealth wrote:That's awesome. I haven't been to any games this year, but can someone who has answer this: how does this year's team compare to the 2001 team? (21-1-0, ranked #1 most of the year, only loss was in national quarterfinals)

Been to every home game and a couple of road games, so I feel qualified to take a swing at this. (And you need to get out to some games!)

This year's team doesn't have the stars that the 2001 team had (Luchi Gonzalez, Diego Walsh, Carl Bussey, etc.), but this might be a better overall team. The biggest star is probably Ugo Ihemelu, in terms of national recognition, and he deserves every accolade he gets. He is as fundmentally sound as any SMU defenders since Kevin Grimes in terms of positioning, technical skill with the ball, speed (he never looks like he's running full speed, but he can run with anyone), strength, etc., and he never makes mistakes. He's always in the right place and makes excellent decisions when marking a man or when bringing the ball out of the back.

Last year's biggest problem was the lack of scoring, when the forwards (Kellen Zindel and Duke Hashimoto) were very talented but too small to force the issue in the box. This year, the team has much more balance on offense. Alex Smith (a transfer from Centenary) has been a god-send, with about 10-12 goals, and he looks like he's going to be a top-flight scorer. But they've gotten goals from a wide array of players, meaning teams can't just gang up on Smith.

He's not the only transfer - Adrian Chivannes (sp?) has joined the defense, where he, Ugo, Mynor Gonzalez and Jay Needham (who's outstanding and doesn't get the attention he deserves) form an imposing unit. The midfielders, led by David Chun and Zindel, are exceptional as well, but again, they don't get headlines.

My personal feeling is that the 2001 team came up short because too much was expected from the stars of that team, like Gonzalez and Walsh, and when teams loaded up to stop them, others didn't step forward to pick up the slack. This year's team isn't likely to do that, I don't think. I'm not saying we'll win the NCAA title this year, but it's certainly not out of the question. This year's team, from TJ Tomasso in goal all the way up to Smith up front, has the balance and cohesiveness to make a long run in the playoffs. Come out and see them - they're extremely impressive.

Pony4Life -

I enjoyed your commentary about SMU soccer.

After SMU football and men's basketball (my favorites) I annually follow Mustang soccer and swimming too.

The success of SMU's soccer program earns the university positive attention in America's soccer-loving communities.

Will the huge soccer complex that Lamar Hunt is building north of Dallas benefit SMU soccer in any meaningful way (more local talent, national tournaments, etc.)?

I'd appreciate any insights that you could share.

I have heard they are trying to host more international-caliber tournaments at the new facility. They might move the Dallas Cup up there, because that facility will be so much nicer than the Cotton Bowl (I doubt it, but that's the rumor.) But if they can draw more pre-college tournaments to Dallas, that can only help.

Pony4Life: see you at Westcott Field this weekend?

How are these guys size wise? I thought in 2001, we lost to St. John's which was more physical than we were and just plain abused our players. I hope we have some guys who can inflict punishment the other way.

The size is better this year.

Ugo Ihemelu is a man, about 6 feet and .... 190? Adrian Whatshisname is about the same height and thicker, as is defender Ross Spencer. Those three look like strong safeties. Forwards Alex Smith and Ryan Latham are taller than last year's forwards (Kellen Zindel and Duke Hashimoto), although Smith could stand to add some weight. The loss of size from last year is in the midfield, where Kevin Hudson patrolled the middle last year. David Chun and Jake Jackson have good (if not great) size, and Zindel plays bigger than his size. He's much better at midfield.

With the big guys on defense, we're not getting pushed around much this year, which is nice to see.