SMU Soccer Named National Seed, Receives First Round Bye

Mustangs to host first, second round of NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament

Kent Smith | Nov 15, 2023

SMU Soccer Named National Seed, Receives First Round Bye /

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SMU Mustangs

DALLAS -The SMU men's soccer team found out it will receive a bye through the first round of the NCAA Tournament as the No. 6 overall seed.

The Mustangs will play host to the winner of Thursday's opening-round match between Northeast Conference tournament champion LIU (10-5-3) and Summit League regular season champion Denver (11-2-5). LIU won the Northeast Conference Tournament and Denver won the Summit League regular-season title.

It's the Mustangs 35th appearance in the tournament and sixth since Kevin Hudson took over the program in 2015. Additionally, SMU (13-2-2) has appeared in the Elite Eight 13 times and the College Cup twice.

SMU finished 7-0-1 in the AAC, winning the outright regular-season title and finishing runner-up to Memphis in the AAAC Tournament. The Mustangs were ranked No. 2 in the most recent United Soccer Coaches poll.

Three Mustangs were named Preseason All-Americans — Jelldrik Dallman, Mads Westergren and Jaylinn Mitchell. Westergren was named the AAC Defensive Player of the Year, Bailey Sparks was named Midfielder of the Year, Cole Johnson was named Goalkeeper of the Year and Niv Berkovitz was crowned Rookie of the Year.

SMU's match will be on Sunday, Nov. 19 at Washburne Soccer and Track Stadium with kickoff set for 7 p.m. Tickets run from $8 for adults to $5 for children and SMU students.

Tickets are $8 for adults and SMU students and youth tickets will be priced at $5. More information and ticket link to follow as available.

All second-round action will take place Sunday. The third round will be played Nov. 25 or Nov. 26, while the quarterfinals will be played Dec. 1 or 2.

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Published Nov 15, 2023

KENT SMITH