Team captain midfielder T.J. Nelson makes a break in the opening game against Campbell Aug. 24 at Wescott field. (Sidney Hollingsworth/The Daily Campus)

Women

The women’s soccer team got back to .500 after defeating Oral Roberts 2-1 Friday at Westcott Field.

The Mustangs bounced back from a disappointing 1-0 loss to San Diego State a week ago, to deliver a dominating performance with an impressive display of offense and stellar defense.

SMU’s first goal came at the 25:12 mark, as ORU attempted to clear the ball only to have their efforts stymied by Mallory Baum who intercepted the ball and almost instantaneously found Taylor Robinson flying up the middle.

Robinson fired a deadly shot from about 25 yards out that scored the Mustangs’ first goal of the season.

Junior midfielder Robinson sat out all of last season due to a knee injury and rehabilitation from ACL surgery.

“[Robinson] is a living testament that with hard work you can come back stronger and better than before,” sophomore forward Shelby Redman said.

The Mustangs scored again off a header by Kenzie Scovill at the 81:50 mark, that was expertly set up from the left side by a skillful cross from Courtney Smith.

“She serves such a good ball with her left foot,” new head coach Chris Petrucelli said. “Anytime she gets a chance to serve, it’s dangerous.”

Also of note was Shannon Moroney’s first career start in goal for SMU. She recorded all four of her saves in the second half.

Moroney is ranked as one of the top 100 players in the nation by Topdrawersoccer and was two-time All-District selection and a member of the 2011 All-Region team for Allen High School.

“We dominated the game and Shannon played great in goal for us,” Redman said. “All and all, we are happy with the win and want to thank all the fans that went to our game.”

Men

The Mustangs move to 0-0-1 after a draw Friday with Campbell at Westcott Field.

Goalkeeper Jaime Ibarra-Perez had a total of eight saves on that night. One of the more impressive saves was the 29th-minute dive to force a shot by Campbell’s Keegan Terry to sail wide.

“[Ibarra-Perez] played solid as usual, making the big save towards the end of the first half to keep the score even,” team captain T.J. Nelson said. “He also helped settle us down when the game was getting frantic by taking some time on the ball when he had it.”

The game remained scoreless until the 54th minute when freshman midfielder Eddie Puskarich put the Mustangs in front.

“Eddie did a good job going up and down the right side, whipping some good crosses that lead to shots on goal,” Nelson said.

The goal came off a pass from freshman Leobardo Vasquez, and set up the 25-yard rocket that hit off the crossbar and in.

Puskarich was named First Team All-State 2010 to 2011, First Team All-District 2009-11, Offensive MVP 2009 to 2011 and First Team Soccer Academic All-State as a junior.

The Mustangs held the lead until the 63rd minute when Campbell’s Ricki Gaez essentially forced the draw. A cross from teammate Mitchell Cardenas set up the header by Gaez that tied the game.

“It’s early in the year and with time I feel like we’ll finish more goal scoring opportunities,” sophomore forward Will Smith said.

Nelson noted his team’s success in moving the ball from side to side to create scoring opportunities for themselves, but feels there is still room for improvement.

“We need to work a little more on our defending as a unit and for a quicker recovery from offense to defense with better communication on the field,” he said.

Next the Mustangs look toward Labor Day weekend and the Hurricane Classic. They will face No.5 USF on Aug.31 and No. 2 New Mexico on Sep. 2.