SMU men’s soccer experienced their second road loss of their four-game road trip last week. The team went head-to-head against University of South Carolina Gamecocks on Oct. 14.
The final score of the game was 3-2 after two overtimes. After last week’s loss, the Mustangs have a record of 5-6-1 overall and a Conference USA record of 1-2-1. South Carolina has found more success this far in the season, with an overall season record of 7-3-2 with a C-USA record of 2-0-1.
Wednesday’s game started off well, with the first goal coming from the Mustangs. Junior Josue Soto scored on an assist from sophomore Pana Vasquez, slipping the ball past the South Carolina goalie for a low placed goal. This is Soto’s first season at SMU and his first career goal as a Mustang, but it was the 15th goal of his career. The assist was Vasquez’s first of his career.
The goal came 46 minutes into the game and was unanswered by the Gamecocks until Sam Arthur scored in the 84th minute of play.
The 1-1 tie did not last long for the team: just one minute and one second after Arthur’s goal, senior Mustang Dane Saintus gave the lead back to SMU.
Saintus scored off a free kick pass by teammate sophomore Ian Kalis. This was Saintus’s seventh goal of the season and Kalis’s first assist at SMU. However, the game remained uneven for only three minutes before South Carolina player Will Traynor scored off a corner kick with an assist from Danny Cates.
With the score at 2-2, the game went into its first overtime, but the entire extra period went without a score, forcing a second overtime. South Carolina midfielder, Jeff Scannella scored the final unassisted goal of the game in the 102nd minute of play.
With two away games under their belt, the team continues on to play their rival, Tulsa University, in Tulsa, Okla. this Wednesday at 7 p.m. In the 2008 season, the Mustangs hosted Tulsa and suffered a 4-1 loss. In the 2007 season, the teams met in Tulsa and tied 2-2 after two overtimes. The Mustangs will return home to play on Westcott field Oct. 31.
