No. 17 SMU Soccer Downs Duke 1-0 In Overtime
DURHAM, N.C. (SMU) – The No. 17 SMU men’s soccer team defeated Duke 1-0 on Sunday afternoon at Koskinen Stadium to close out the Duke Classic. Senior Arthur Ivo scored the game’s only goal. The Mustangs move to 1-2 on the season, while the Blue Devils are now 1-3.
“It’s great to get that first win; our schedule is pretty unforgiving,” head coach Tim McClements said. “We want to play the best teams in the country to better prepare us if we are fortunate enough to make the NCAA Tournament. We feel like we’re finally starting to click a little bit better. Zach Barnes, Aaron Simmons, T.J. Nelson and Adam Still all had great weekends. When you’re team is playing well, you want to be rewarded with the results, and today the results came against a very good team.”
Ivo netted the game-winner, and his first tally of the season, in the 94th minute after great pursuit in the box by sophomore Juan Castillo. After Castillo battled his way through several defenders, the ball found Ivo who finished the pass from 12 yards out.
Sophomore Jaime Ibarra notched his first career shutout while earning his second consecutive start in goal for the Mustangs. Ibarra made nine stops for the clean sheet, including a great save on Andrew Wenger at the end of regulation to keep the score knotted 0-0 and send the game to the extra period.
“Jaime was excellent this weekend,” said McClements. “He had a really strong performance again today, and we’re really happy with him. Our goalkeepers have been battling all season, and we really can’t go wrong with any of them.”
The Mustangs head to Tulsa, Okla., for the Hurricane Classic Sept. 9-11. SMU faces Oakland Sept. 9 at 5 p.m. before taking on No. 5 Connecticut Sept. 11 at 11 a.m. Both teams were NCAA Tournament teams in 2010, with Oakland falling to Michigan State in the first round, while UConn lost to Brown on penalty kicks in the second round.
