No. 6 Men's Soccer Rolls Past Memphis, 3-0

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

No. 6 Men's Soccer Rolls Past Memphis, 3-0
Castillo, Ivo and Cruz score for the Mustangs

Oct. 23, 2010

MEMPHIS (SMU) – The No. 6 SMU men’s soccer team defeated Memphis 3-0 Saturday night. Juan Castillo, Arthur Ivo and Leone Cruz all scored for the Mustangs. With the win, SMU moves to 13-1-0 on the season and is now 5-1-0 in Conference USA action.

“It was a great performance by the guys from beginning to end,” said head coach Tim McClements. “We knew that Memphis was in a do-or-die situation and that they were going to come out and play hard – which they did. We were able to maintain possession for a good part of the game and utilize a lot of players. It was a complete team effort.”

Castillo opened the scoring with a goal in the 24th minute. Cruz found Castillo who lofted the ball from inside the 18 yard box over Memphis’ goalie to the near post. The goal was Castillo’s team leading ninth of the year and his fourth game-winner of the season.

Ivo netted a goal in the 49th minute on a set piece from 20 yards out following a foul on Memphis just outside the 18 yard box. Ivo fired the ball just inside the right post for his seventh goal of the year. He has now converted free kicks in back-to-back games for the Mustangs and has collected at least one point in four consecutive games.

Cruz added a goal of his own in the 60th minute. Ivo set up for another free kick just outside the box and hit the crossbar. Cruz gathered the rebound and fired it home for his first goal of the season. Ivo earned an assist on the goal to complete his four-point night.

Freshman goalkeeper Jaime Ibarra came in during the 76th minute in relief of Craig Hill. Ibarra faced no shots in the first game action of his career. Hill had three stops on the night for SMU.

“Kentucky going to be a tough game,” said McClements. “Kentucky is fighting for points to get in to the conference tournament. They played Indiana a few nights ago and tied. They are a very capable team and have given us a lot of trouble over the years. We’ve got to be focused and win this game if we want to win the conference.”

SMU returns home to host Kentucky in the final game of the regular season Saturday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. Purchase your tickets online at smumustangs.com or call 214-SMU-GAME.

[PonyTales]

The guys are having a hell of a season.
A shutout on the road against a conference opponent is fantastic.
Hell of a job!

[Ikus]

We're alone at the top of the conference with UCF — they have 14 points (UCF is 4-0-2), we have 12 (we're 5-1-0).

The Mustangs' run this season has been way beyond what I expected, and what a lot of my soccer friends thought. Hell of a job by Coach McClements, his staff and his remarkable team.

Keep it going, guys

[EastStang]

Actually we have 15 points. Wins count 3 points. If we win out, we win the regular season and will have less pressure in the conference tourney. I'd like to win both.