Men's soccer eliminated by Marshall, 3-2

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

No. 12 Seed SMU Falls To No. 13 Seed Marshall In NCAA Quarterfinals

DALLAS (SMU) — No. 12 Seed SMU Men's Soccer fell 3-2 to 13th-seeded Marshall in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Championship on Sunday.

The Mustangs closed their 2024 season, their first season in the ACC, with a 12-3-6 record while making their 14th NCAA Quarterfinals appearance.

Marshall scored in the first half and took a two-goal lead at the start of the second half before SMU scored their first goal. The visitors took back their two-goal lead with a third goal, and despite scoring a second goal and remaining on offense, the Mustangs fell short of closing the goal deficit.

Milton Lopez scored a brace for the Mustangs. Bailey Sparks assisted both of Lopez's goals.

How It Happened
The Mustangs and Thundering Herd battled for momentum at the beginning of the match.

Amid the scarce scoring chances from both sides, Marshall took the lead in the 24th minute with a goal by Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos.

The Mustangs were on the offensive at the end of the first half, but the score remained 1-0 at the end of the first period.

The second half started in the Mustangs' favor as they saw more attacking sequences, but Marshall found the second goal in the 55th minute.

Under two minutes after conceding the second goal, SMU reduced the deficit with a goal from Lopez.

Sparks set up Lopez's goal with a chip over the Marshall defense. Lopez showed composure to net his first postseason goal.

The match resumed and the back and forth continued. Marshall turned the lead back to two goals with a goal in the 76th minute.

SMU retained its momentum after Marshall's third goal earning multiple corner kicks in the process.

The Mustangs reduced the deficit in the 82nd minute through a corner kick. Sparks' long corner found Lopez, who headed the ball in from the far post to score his brace.

SMU remained on offense but the scoreline remained 3-2 at full-time.

Other Notes
SMU continues its scoring streak to make it 41 consecutive matches with one or more goals.

Lopez scored his first brace for SMU. The goals were his first career postseason goals.

Sparks made two assists in a single match for the second time this season.

This match was SMU's 14th NCAA quarterfinals appearance. Second time under Kevin Hudson.

[Hilltopper]

That sucks. I was hoping to watch them on TV in the Final Four.
Hell of a year in a great soccer conference.

[EastStang]

We competed in the best soccer conference in America. Nothing to be ashamed of. We proved in soccer, volleyball and football that we are a good addition to the conference. We also learned that we still have some work to do.

[indianmustang]

Marshall went on a run and lost in championship round
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/sports/ ... l/6076157/

[Terry Webster]

Marshall went on a run and lost in championship round
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/sports/ ... l/6076157/

The last 10 minutes of the game with Marshall and Vermont were crazy. The game winning goal was amazing.