Men's soccer draws Oral Roberts, 1-1

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From SMUMustangs.com:

Lopez Scores First Career-Goal, No. 10 SMU Draws Against Oral Roberts

DALLAS (SMU) — No. 10 SMU Men's Soccer Team draws 1-1 against Oral Roberts in their second match of the season, Sunday.

The Mustangs are now 1-0-1 as the Golden Eagles improve to 1-1-0 at the start of the 2024 season.

Sophomore forward Milton Lopez scored his first career goal for the Mustangs with a two-touch goal from Bailey Sparks' pass. Sparks made his first assist of the season.

SMU again showed their offensive dominance by outshooting Oral Roberts 17 to seven. The Mustangs recorded seven shots on goal through 90 minutes.

How It Happened
The Mustangs took the initiative after kick-off as Jaylinn Mitchell's shot in the first minutes was blocked.

The Mustangs continued to dominate possession, with Sparks providing the first goal chance for the Mustangs with a shot from just outside the penalty box, but Oral Roberts' goalkeeper saved it.

SMU took eight shots to Oral Roberts' two, but the score remained 0-0 after 45 minutes.

Daniel Escorcia had a blazing start to the second half by creating a goal-scoring chance with a drive from the left wing. The Eagles' goalkeeper denied his shot to the near goalpost.

Jose Estrada took the early lead for Oral Roberts with a header in the 57th minute, but Milton Lopez quickly responded with a strong finish on a through ball by Sparks to equalize.

The Mustangs fell short of scoring the match-winner despite taking nine shots with four shots on goal in the second half.

Other Notes
SMU remains undefeated against Oral Roberts with an 11-0-1 record.

Sparks led the team with four shots and three on goal followed by Nikola Djordjevic with three shots and one on goal.

The last time SMU had a draw was at No. 25 FIU where they tie 2-2 on Oct. 8, 2023.

The Mustangs will host Saint Louis for their third match of the season at 8:30 p.m. CT, Aug. 29.