The No. 5 SMU men’s soccer team closed out regular season play with a dramatic 2-1 overtime victory against Florida International on Friday night in Miami. The Mustangs posted a 15-1 overall record and 7-1 record in Conference USA action.

“The game was a hard-fought battle,” SMU head Coach Tim McClements said. “I think that it really shows FIU’s drive and dedication. They could have easily folded up, but they did not – they came out fighting. They played like they didn’t have anything to lose, and that’s a dangerous recipe for us going in to the game.”

“We scored early in the first half, but then the game kind of opened up and that really favored FIU. It was a really end-to-end game. We played hard, but we didn’t play as well as we normally do because they played so hard and never gave up,” he said.

SMU senior midfielder Josue Soto got the Mustangs on the board early with a goal in the third minute of the game. FIU goalkeeper Shane Lopez and another unidentified Golden Panther collided in the box which allowed Soto to score his sixth goal of the year with ease.

The score would remain 1-0 until early in the second half when FIU midfielder Carlo Schmid took a cross from forward Marcus Hairston and struck the ball to the far post for his second goal of the season.

Both teams would play extremely tough defense for the rest of the second half forcing overtime.

Before the extra period began McClements received a red card which fired up the Ponies. The game proved to be a war as the two conference foes finished with a combined seven yellow cards and 37 total fouls.

In the 99th minute, SMU midfielder Payton Hickey fired a shot on goal, but Lopez was able to make a diving save and knock the ball back into the playing field. Fortunately for the Mustangs, fellow midfielder T.J. Nelson was there to gain possession of the rebound and bury the ball in the back of the net.

Nelson’s second goal of the season was also his second overtime game winner of the year.

“The season has been great,” McClements said. “The players have been great, and they have responded anytime there has been a difficult situation or distraction. We are just trying to get ourselves ready to win the conference championship and go to the NCAA tournament.”

SMU will head to Memphis to compete in the Conference USA Championship on Wednesday through Sunday. The Mustangs are the No. 1 seed and have a bye in the first round.