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The Mustangs return to Westcott Field Saturday evening in an exhibition match against the Missouri Tigers at 7pm.

There is naturally a lot of interest in this one with the new coaching staff and a lot of new players in the mix.

The obvious questions are who starts in the back four, who gets the first crack at keeper, what formation(s) we use, and which freshmen will be counted on to make an immediate impact.

There will be plenty to discuss in the coming week as SMU gets ready to face San Diego State to start the season next Friday night.

Go Ponies!

In Petrucelli's new column today he mentions this game will be a bit more on the informal side to get more practice and to make sure there isn't too much information available for the other teams to be able to scout us before the start of the regular season. I can see that. We are probably still in the early stages of implementing new stuff from the new staff and he did mention we are moving players around as well.

He also said the SMU players will not be wearing uniforms!

So, I guess we should avoid putting any details on here since SDSU will certainly be monitoring ponyfans.com for information, and if somebody in a SDSU shirt Saturday night asks you about the players don't tell them anything or even better tell them the wrong names or something.

Go Ponies!

SMU scored more goals than Missouri did tonight.

Well, the score is available on the internet this morning so it isn't a big national secret or anything.

So, for those who couldn't make it and those out of town, SMU won 4-0.

How good is Missouri ? And what is the deal with not wearing uniforms? Never heard of that ever.

So THAT's what this team looks like with a coach.

That was impressive. I don't know the team like some of you do, so I couldn't tell you who looked most impressive, but we looked much better than last year, especially in the offensive end. Ponies looked like a completely new team, and I hope that's an indication of things to come.

WildHorse wrote:So THAT's what this team looks like with a coach..

Bingo.

WildHorse wrote:That was impressive. I don't know the team like some of you do, so I couldn't tell you who looked most impressive, but we looked much better than last year, especially in the offensive end. Ponies looked like a completely new team, and I hope that's an indication of things to come.

We struggled offensively for the last five years so it's awesome to see them open up and play good soccer. I am also very impressed with the attitude and professionalism of our new coach. What a breath of fresh air and the players are ecstatic. About dang time.

This is going to be a fun season and I couldn't be happier for the players, especially the seniors who stuck it out. Go PONIES

Treadway21 wrote:How good is Missouri ? And what is the deal with not wearing uniforms? Never heard of that ever.

They finished 6th (out of 9 teams) in an obviously loaded Big 12 last season.

From this season's SEC preview:

• Mizzou returns nine starters and 15 letter winners from the 2011 team that
posted a 12-8-1 record.
• The Tigers also return six of the top seven scorers from a season ago.
Overall, Mizzou returns 76.4 percent of its scoring and 79.2 percent of its
total points from 2011.
• Three members of the 2012 squad earned all-conference honors last year:
junior Alyssa Diggs earned All-Big 12 first team accolades, junior Dominique
Richardson was named to the All-Big 12 second team and sophomore Kaysie
Clark was a member of the Big 12 All-Newcomer team.
• Head Coach Bryan Blitz enters his 17th season at the helm of the Tigers and
owns a 174-142-17 record with the squad.

So, they have most of their team back and a stable coaching regime. They were 63 in last season's RPI (we were 76) so it was a legitimate test for us.

I agree, the no jerseys thing was strange. I'm surprised the officials allowed it, but we were in our warmups so maybe they had small numbers on them in case the referee needed to book anybody (not that I would say if anybody was or wasn't booked anyway).

It's amazing the world of 2012 has reached the point where NCAA women's soccer is trying to keep opponents from having any scouting information on them. I heard some rumblings Missouri might have even had some their jerseys mixed up for the same reason.

I can't wait for Friday night. Go Ponies!

(nice to see August back too!)

DanFreibergerForHeisman wrote: So, they have most of their team back and a stable coaching regime. They were 63 in last season's RPI (we were 76) so it was a legitimate test for us.

Agree. Blitz is a quirky guy but he consistently fields a team of big, strong players. I especially like the result as we look forward to tougher competition in the BE.

DanFreibergerForHeisman wrote: I agree, the no jerseys thing was strange.

Isn't it great to see us trying to grab any competitive edge? I am really liking what I'm seeing, even this early in the game.

DanFreibergerForHeisman wrote: (nice to see August back too!)

I think SDSU will be a bit surprised this week. We haven't done particularly well against California teams the last few years but really looking forward to this one!

SMU put out a release today:

http://www.smumustangs.com/sports/w-soccer/recaps/081312aaa.html

August wrote:Isn't it great to see us trying to grab any competitive edge? I am really liking what I'm seeing, even this early in the game.

The whole night had a totally different feeling about it - even during warmups. It's hard to explain.

It was amazing to see the team so well-prepared by a staff who only had them for 10 days. The perfect example was when one of our players had an infraction that gave Missouri a rather dangerous indirect free kick. SMU instantly knew what to do and was ready and waiting for it while Missouri looked confused.

For all I know, the team worked on that situation Saturday morning and CP asked the player to intentionally do it - but either way it was impressive to see SMU so thoroughly ready for anything so soon.

Obviously, the regular season is a different animal, but there definitely appears to be reason for optimism.

I was surprised to see the release today after the request for secrecy, but I'm sure once CP knew the score was out there and the team looked good he wasn't quite as concerned. Plus, it isn't like the release contains details about who played where and how much...

Go Ponies!

Hey long time men's fan, new to women's soccer, but am impressed with the hire of Petrucelli, as well as know of a couple girls from my area (friends of friends with Petrucelli's daughter who is on the team). How did the team look on Saturday? I know they had a ton of turnover so is Petrucelli working this magic with the ones who stayed or all newbies? I am guessing Morony (sp?) will be the starter as I heard she was next level in club ball, but I am not sure who else came back. I loved watching the defender (outside back?) who was money on set pieces. Not sure of her name but I think I must've seen her assist on like 3 goals and 100 near misses in the few games i saw last year. This year I am taking my fandom to the next level...what do I need to know?? haha.

homecookin' wrote:Hey long time men's fan, new to women's soccer, but am impressed with the hire of Petrucelli, as well as know of a couple girls from my area (friends of friends with Petrucelli's daughter who is on the team). How did the team look on Saturday? I know they had a ton of turnover so is Petrucelli working this magic with the ones who stayed or all newbies? I am guessing Morony (sp?) will be the starter as I heard she was next level in club ball, but I am not sure who else came back. I loved watching the defender (outside back?) who was money on set pieces. Not sure of her name but I think I must've seen her assist on like 3 goals and 100 near misses in the few games i saw last year. This year I am taking my fandom to the next level...what do I need to know?? haha.

Welcome.

Petrucelli asked to keep things under wraps until the regular season starts so the early opponents don't have much to go on, but rest assured there will be a lot more information about the team on here Friday night. This is the best place for SMU soccer discussion, and SMU does a great job with information as well.

Naturally, the team looked really good against Missouri as the 4-0 score indicates. When SMU feels comfortable issuing a press release titled "Mustangs dominate Tigers" you can kind of tell how Saturday went. We are all looking forward to the season. There has been no evidence so far to dismiss the theory Petrucelli has turned this thing around in a hurry. It starts for real in about 72 hours.

The defender you are thinking of is left back Courtney Smith - who could have easily had 15-20 assists last season with some better finishing. She is a beast.