Stryker scores twice, lifts women's soccer over UNT, 4-3

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

Stryker's brace highlights SMU's 4-3 road victory over North Texas

DENTON, Texas (SMU) – Behind a brace from Nicole Stryker, the SMU women's soccer program had an offensive explosion and survived a late rally, defeating North Texas 4-3 Thursday night on the road in Denton, Texas.

The Mustangs (2-1-0, 0-0-0 ACC) started slow but came alive towards the end of the first half and jumped out to a 3-0 lead early in the second half. After trading goals, SMU was up 4-1 with 20 minutes left in the match. UNT rallied late, scoring two goals, but it was too little too late.

North Texas (1-2-0, 0-0-0 American) had multiple chances early in the game to score, but SMU goalkeeper Aubrey Brown had four saves over the first 13 minutes of the game to keep the game even.

Brown finished the game with a career high eight saves on 29 shots faced.

Even though SMU had fewer shots than the Mean Green in the game, SMU's accuracy was unmatched, scoring four goals on six total shots.

In the 29th minute, Lindsay Nicholson got things going for SMU as she sent a rocket into the top left corner to give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead on a feed from Sydney Japic. The freshman has now scored in back-to-back games.

With five minutes left in the half, Stryker found herself alone inside the box and capitalized on the opportunity, scoring her first career goal as Sammy Nieves got the assists.

The Mustangs led 2-0 at the half and looked to take control of the game.

Coming out of the break, Nieves found Stryker near the net again and she headed one into the back of the net for her second career goal. Nieves recorded two assists in a single game for the first time in her career and now has nine total.

North Texas answered the Mustangs' three straight goals in the 55th minute, but less than two minutes later, Nyah Rose scored the eventual game-winning goal and increased the lead to 4-1. It was Rose's first goal of the season and the 17th of her career.

UNT made things interesting, scoring two goals late in the game, but SMU held on to earn its first road victory since October of 2023.

// Up Next
SMU returns to Washburne Stadium on Sunday, August 24, for a matchup against the Southern Jaguars. The match will kick off at 7 p.m. CT and will be aired on ACCNX. Fans can enjoy free admission to all regular-season SMU women's soccer home games.

Sunday's match is Back to School Night, which will feature SMU posters, schedule cards, and prize wheel items as giveaways, as well as an autograph signing session with the team after the game.

// Other Notes
The win was SMU's first road victory since 2023. (Oct.26 2023, 3-1 win at North Texas)
In her fourth season as head coach of the Mustangs, Nicole Nelson is now 29-20-8 overall at SMU and 91-83-23 in her coaching career.
The Mustangs are now 9-10-5 on the road under Nelson.
The Mustangs are now 470-250-61 all-time in program history.