2015 NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament (First Round)
Utah Valley at SMU
Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015  |  7 p.m. CT/6 p.m. MT
Dallas, Texas  |  Westcott Field
Live Video  |  Live Stats  |  UVU Match Notes
 

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FIRST TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE TAKES UVU TO SMU
Utah Valley University makes its first NCAA Tournament appearance this week, traveling to SMU for a first round match-up set for Thursday at 7 p.m. CT/6 p.m. MT. Thursday's winner travels to No. 13 national seed Denver for a Sunday matchup at 5 p.m. MT.

Both UVU and SMU received at-large bids to the tournament after losing in their respective conference tournaments. The Wolverines (14-5-2) lost in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournament championship match to No. 13 Seattle U on penalty kicks. In only its second season of competition, the UVU men's soccer program is the University's first athletic team to receive an at-large berth to an NCAA Tournament.

"Garnering an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament is a testament to the body of work our team has compiled throughout the year," said UVU head coach Greg Maas. "The hard part is getting to the NCAA tournament, but we're not satisfied, our focus is on SMU and winning that match in Dallas."

Thursday's contest will be a homecoming for freshman Aaron Meyer, who is from nearby Carrollton, Texas. Meyer ranks second in the nation with 12 assists on the season. Goalkeeper Avery Miller has a tie to SMU, having been on the Mustang roster as a redshirt in 2014.

ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
SMU (13-2-4) was the American Athletic Conference (AAC) regular season champion but lost in the semifinal to tournament champion Tulsa, also on PKs. The Mustangs -- ranked No. 11 in this week's NSCAA Coaches Poll -- are making their 30th postseason appearance and 18th in the last 22 seasons. They advanced to the College Cup (college soccer's final four) in 2000 and 2005 and also reached the Elite Eight in 2010. SMU has an overall postseason record of 31-22-8.

The Mustangs went 7-0-1 in the AAC regular season and cleaned up in the league's postseason awards. Mauro Cichero was named the AAC Offensive Player of the Year, Michael Nelson was named the Goalkeeper of the Year, John Lujano earned Midfielder of the Year and coach Kevin Hudson and his assistants received Coaching Staff of the Year. Cichero has 10 goals and seven assists (27 points) to lead the team while Nelson has played every minute in goal this season and has recorded seven shutouts with a 1.04 goals against average.