Men's soccer earns first-round NCAA bye

[Terry Webster]

Seeded 11th and got a first round bye with a home game against the winner of the Vermont/Quinnipiac game.

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

Mustangs Named No. 11 Overall Seed In NCAA Tournament

DALLAS (SMU) -The SMU men's soccer team heard its name called on Selection Monday when the NCAA selection committee announced the Mustangs as the No. 11 overall seed in the 2022 NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament.

It's the Mustangs (10-5-1) 34th appearance in the tournament and fifth since Kevin Hudson took over the program in 2015. Additionally, SMU has appeared in the Elite Eight 13 times and the College Cup twice.

The bracket revealed that the No. 11 Mustangs will play host to the winner of Thursday's opening-round match between Vermont (13-3-2) from the America East and MAAC Champions Quinnipiac (13-4-3).

SMU enters the NCAA Tournament with a 10-5-1 record. Six Mustangs were named to All-American Athletic Conference teams, Knut Ahlander was named the Offensive Player and Midfielder of the Year and Alexander Petraeus was crowned Rookie of the Year.

SMU's match versus Vermont/Quinnipiac will be on Sunday, November 20 at 7 p.m. at Washburne Soccer and Track Stadium.

Tickets will $6 and SMU students will have the option to claim complimentary tickets.

The top 16 teams were seeded and received first-round byes. All first-round games will be played Thursday, Nov. 17, on campus sites, while all second-round action will take place Sunday, Nov. 20. The third round will be played Nov. 26 and 27, while the quarterfinals will be played Dec. 2 and 3.

[Hoofprint]

Bundle up. It's going to be chilly.
Go Mustangs!

[Terry Webster]

up 2-0 at half.

[H-E-B Mustang]

Lost 2-3.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

Ugh

[Terry Webster]

That was frustrating match to watch. It seems as though in the second half we played not to lose instead of playing to win.

[H-E-B Mustang]

I agree. We tried sitting on a two-goal lead. Vermont took advantage of that strategy.

[Charleston Pony]

We are SMU and we do what we do! Really a wanted to advance and play Clemson where we sent both our kids

[PonyPride]

I'd contend that the difference wasn't so much in how SMU played after the intermission as much as it was Vermont ramping up its game a lot. A veteran team started playing with more urgency, and came through. A few minutes into the second half, Bailey Sparks flicked a heel pass backward to Henrik Skilberg, who blasted a shot toward the lower right corner. Vermont goalkeeper Nate Silveira — who did not make a single face in the first half — dove to his left to make a beautiful save. The shot was really good, and the save was better. If Skilberg had found the net, that might have iced it. To me, that was the play of the game. It wasn't anything Skilberg did wrong. It was a matter of a two-time conference Goalie of the Year coming up with a massive play to keep his team in it.