No. 12 men's soccer beats Dayton, 3-1 — heads to Elite Eight

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From SMUMustangs.com:

No. 12 SMU Wins 3-1 At No. 5 Dayton, Advances To The Elite Eight

DAYTON, Ohio (SMU) — No. 12 Seed SMU Men's Soccer won 3-1 at fifth-seeded Dayton to advance to the NCAA Championship quarterfinal round on Saturday.

Dayton opened the scoring early in the first minute, but the Mustangs scored three goals to seal their Elite Eight appearance.

The Mustangs' three goals came from Kyran Chambron Pinho, Bailey Sparks and Owen Zarnick.

Daniel Escorcia assisted Chambron Pinho's equalizer goal. Chambron Pinho and Sparks both made an assist to pair with their goals.

SMU will make its 14th Elite Eight appearance against No. 13 Seed Marshall at Washburne Stadium.

How It Happened
The match went according to Dayton's plans after kick-off, as the hosts opened the scoring in the first minute of the match.

Mustangs gradually grew into the match and found the equalizer in the 18th minute.

Escorcia fed a long ball to the left wing that found Chambron Pinho. The senior left back hit a strong low ball to net his sixth goal of the season and equalize the match.

SMU remained on offense, but the scoreline remained 1-1 at the end of the first half.

Both teams tussled to regain momentum at the start of the second half. The opposing sides saw multiple offensive chances before Escorcia won a penalty kick in the 65th minute of the match.

Sparks stepped up to the penalty spot and scored his ninth goal of the season to take the lead.

The Mustangs scored their third goal in the 73rd minute. Zarnick scored his fourth SMU career goal on a set-piece ball.

Sparks' long corner kick found Chambron Pinho, who flicked the ball with his heel which was then slotted to the goal net by Zarnick to double the Mustangs' lead.

SMU's defense held on through the final 17 minutes and sealed their quarterfinals ticket with a 3-1 win on the road.

Other Notes
SMU continues its scoring streak to make it 40 consecutive matches with one or more goals.

Sparks scored his fourth match-winner of the season.

Sparks' goal was also his sixth penalty kick goal of the season. He has scored six goals from six penalty kick attempts this season.

Zarnick has scored four goals this season.

Chambron Pinho has six goals and six assists this season.

SMU will make its 14th NCAA Quarterfinals—the second time under Kevin Hudson.

The Mustangs' previous Elite Eight appearance was in 2019.

What's Next?
SMU will host No. 13 Seed Marshall in its NCAA Quarterfinal Round at Washburne Stadium next weekend.