Men's soccer

[Terry Webster]

Not being around Dallas, I havent read much about the soccer team. What is going on with them? They started off hot but have really struggled.

[H-E-B Mustang]

Lost again tonight. To UCF 1-2. After earlier being rated #2, lost 4 of the next 5 matches.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

Definitely in a rough stretch...

[PonyPride]

Ponies are like a lot of teams — talented but replacing a lot of talent that moved on. Injuries hit harder on thinner rosters. Two players sat out of games after red cards.

Every game is close, except the first USF matchup, and that reflects the current climate in college soccer: USF had a player ejected in the 11th minute of that game, and playing a man up, SMU hung 7 on the Bulls. Then USF had a key player leave after the season started to sign a professional contract, and the Bulls somehow have gotten better.

It's like baseball, where your pitcher can throw a one-hitter, but if that one hit goes 400 feet and the bases are loaded, it's a damaging hit.

The fast start might have painted a very optimistic picture, and the current record is less than PonyFans are accustomed to. Reality is somewhere in between. There are some very good players on this team, and Kevin Hudson always recruits very well.

Last year's Elite Eight team was loaded, but lost a truckload of talent: Garrett McLaughlin, Eddie Munjoma, Talen Maples, Nicky Hernandez, Philip Ponder, Henrik Bredeli and Grant Makela all played major roles and are gone. Every coach has to replace players every year, but that's an unreal amount of talent and production that this team has had to replace. This year's senior class is good, too — see Brandon Terwege, Noah Hilt, Nick Taylor, Luke Thompson — but not nearly as big.

Depending on what recruiting reports you consider, it seems like the coaches have some outstanding players headed to Dallas in 2021. Tulsa, according to preseason reports, was supposed to be dead-last in the AAC this year, and is sitting in second place, two points behind UCF for the conference lead. Tulsa's coach, when asked how he sees the AAC shaking out this season, said "who knows? You never know who you're going to have, or who your opponent is going to have, from one game to the next. You show up and play and hope for the best."

For all the surprise over SMU's 4-4 mark, the Mustangs are tied for third. Very strange year.

[mtrout]

At least they're playing

[mtrout]

Destruction of Tulsa complete. Enjoy the L golden hurricanes.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

Destruction of Tulsa complete. Enjoy the L golden hurricanes.

Always nice to beat Tulsa