SMU Soccer Earns 6 Weekly Honors
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DALLAS (SMU) – SMU men’s soccer players Tyler Engel and Jaime Ibarra swept the weekly Conference USA honors, while the entire SMU back line – Michael King, Amaury Ponce, Damian Rosales and Aaron Simmons – was named to the TopDrawerSoccer National team of the Week after the Mustangs posted back-to-back shutouts in wins against No. 20 Tulsa and Kentucky last week.
Engel was named the C-USA Offensive Player of the Week after recording a game-winning goal, a game-winning assist and added another assist as the Mustangs went 2-0 last week. Engel had an assist on the game’s lone goal in SMU’s 1-0 win against No. 20 Tulsa on Oct. 3. Engel sent a cross to the far side of the box and freshman Brenden Lee volleyed the ball home from five yards out. Engel had a hand in both SMU goals Saturday night as the team defeated Kentucky, 2-0. Engel opened the scoring for the Mustangs with a penalty kick in the 65th minute for his fifth goal of the season. Engel then assisted on an insurance goal for the Mustangs when he sent a long through pass from the right side in the 75th minute to junior Juan Castillo, who ran onto the ball and tapped it in from eight yards out. Engel leads the Mustangs in goals (5), game-winning goals (4), assists (5) and points (15). This is Engel’s second Player of the Week award for the season and of his career.
Ibarra was tabbed the C-USA Defensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive week as he extended his shutout streak to three games after posting back-to-back clean sheets. The defending NSCAA National Player of the Week made four saves in a shut out of No. 20 Tulsa on Wednesday. Saturday night against Kentucky, Ibarra turned in another golden night in net for the Mustangs. The junior made five saves on the night en route to his third consecutive shutout and fifth clean sheet of the season. Ibarra has only allowed two goals in the past six games, stopping two penalty kicks in that span. He has recorded 70 total stops this year, averaging 5.8 saves per game. Ibarra boasts a 0.79 goals-against average and a .875 save percentage on the season. The award is the fourth of Ibarra’s career, second consecutive and third of the season.
King, Ponce, Rosales and Simmons were instrumental in helping Ibarra shut down the opposition as the Mustangs extended their win streak to nine games and shutout streak to three. King, Rosales and Simmons played all 180 minutes of action last weekend, while Ponce played 170 minutes. On Wednesday, Simmons preserved the SMU win and shutout of No. 20 Tulsa with a team save on the line in the 83rd minute.
SMU heads to Florida to take on UCF on Sunday, Oct. 14, and FIU on Oct. 17.
