Nov. 5, 2006

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Game Highlights

Tulsa, Okla. - The top-seeded SMU men's soccer team claimed its first Conference USA Men's Soccer championship title after a 2-0 win over second-seeded Kentucky on Sunday afternoon at the Hurricane Soccer and Track Stadium on the campus of the University of Tulsa. Chase Wileman and Adrian Chevannes scored for the Mustangs. The title was SMU's sixth tournament title since 1997.

The teams were scoreless through most of the first half until Wileman flicked home SMU's first goal in the 42nd minute just past the diving Matt Troop. Kentucky had some chances in the first half, but could not put the ball in the net and trailed at halftime, 1-0.

It was another tough battle to begin the second half as SMU clung to the one-goal lead through 63 minutes. In the 64th minute, Mynor Gonzalez intercepted a Wildcat pass and brought the ball up the far left side. He flicked a pass to Wileman, who then tapped a nifty pass to Chevannes in the box for the score through Troop's legs.

The Mustangs were then able to sub in fresh legs and kill out the clock for the championship victory. The win for SMU snapped a five-game UK win streak.

SMU head coach Schellas Hyndman was happy with his team's performances. "I thought we played well," Hyndman said. "We moved the ball and kept our composure. I thought they played very defensive, so we kept telling our guys to keep the ball moving. I am pleased with the way we played in the second half and it was a great second goal for us. I was really happy with the outcome of the game."

The second-ranked Mustangs improve to 17-1-4 with the win, while 13th-ranked Kentucky ends its regular season at 14-5-2. The teams will now await the NCAA selections that will be announced on Monday.

Hyndman hopes his team will snag a top-four seed. "We hope that we are a top four seed," Hyndman said. "We worked hard all season and we have only had one loss all year. To be a top four seed it really depends on what going on around the country and who's winning what games. When selection comes along, if we are not a top-four seed, we will be disappointed, but we will move along."

SMU sophomore Bruno Guarda earned Championship MVP honors.  SMU representatives on the All-Tournament team were Paulo da Silva, Jay Needham, and Matt Wideman.

The 2006 C-USA Men's Soccer Championship All-Conference Team selections are as follows:

Jerson Montero, UAB
Trey Gregory, UAB
Eric Burkholder, Tulsa
Eric DeFreitas, Tulsa
Matt Wiler, Kentucky
Barry Rice, Kentucky
Masumi Turnbull, Kentucky
Paulo da Silva, SMU
Jay Needham, SMU
Matt Wideman, SMU
MVP - Bruno Guarda, SMU