No. 25 SMU Set To Take On No. 4 Virginia In ACC Championship Ultimate | Sunday 12 pm CT

CARY, N.C. (SMU) – No. 25 SMU Men’s Soccer is ready to tackle No. 4 Virginia within the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship closing at First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., on Sunday.

This will likely be SMU’s second assembly in opposition to Virginia this season after internet hosting the Cavaliers in its regular-season finale. The match will kick off at 12 pm CT and will likely be aired on ESPNU.

The Mustangs superior within the match after profitable 5-1 in opposition to No. 6 seed Syracuse within the semifinal spherical on Thursday.

Mustangs vs. Cavaliers History

• This would be the sixth assembly between the Mustangs and the Cavaliers.
• Their first assembly within the ACC Championship.
• SMU and Virginia met of their closing common season match on Oct. 31. UVA gained 1-0.
• The two groups met within the quarterfinal spherical of the NCAA Tournament in 2019. The Mustangs misplaced 3-2 in extra time in opposition to then-No. 1 Virginia.
• The Mustangs’ first assembly in opposition to Virginia was in 1987, when the Mustangs gained 1-0 at house in opposition to the then top-ranked UVA.

Talking Stats

• Stephan Soghomonian is SMU’s main goalscorer with 12 objectives. He is the second-top scorer within the ACC.
• Villads Landsperg has performed essentially the most minutes for SMU this season, with 1608 minutes in 18 matches. He’s solely missed 5 sport minutes all season and performed full 90 minutes in 16 matches.

Regular Season Finale Rematch

• SMU hosted Virginia on Oct. 31. The Cavaliers gained 1-0 with a objective within the 84th minute.
• The Mustangs managed 58 p.c of the possession and outshot Virginia 9 to 4.

Postseason Awards

Postseason Notes

• SMU has gained 10 convention match titles.
• This will likely be SMU’s first look within the ACC Championship closing. The solely different SMU program to have made an ACC Championship sport was SMU soccer in 2024.
• The Mustangs made the quarterfinals of their first ACC Championship. They had been eradicated by Wake Forest within the quarterfinal spherical on a penalty shootout of their first season.

SMU vs Syracuse Notes

• SMU will make its first ACC Championship closing look after its 5-1 win over Syracuse within the semifinals.
• The Mustangs will tackle Virginia within the ACC Championship closing.
• All 5 of SMU’s objectives had been scored by totally different gamers.
• Stephan Soghomonian scored his twelfth objective of the season and has scored a objective within the final three matches.
• Ryan Clanton-Pimentel scored his first objective for SMU in his first multi-goal-contribution sport (1 objective, 2 assists).
• Alex Salvo recorded his first help of the season.
• Slade Starnes recorded his first help for SMU.
• Head Coach Kevin Hudson now has eight seasons during which he has gained 10 video games or extra.

Stepped Up

• Stephan Soghomonian leads SMU with 12 objectives this season.
• He was named ACC Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 7 and Oct. 21.
• He is the ACC’s second prime scorer in convention play with six objectives in opposition to ACC groups within the common season.
• Soghomonian is on a 3 match scoring streak.
• Scored a hat trick in opposition to California (Oct. 3) and Boston College (Oct. 18).
• He grew to become the primary Mustang to attain a hat trick after virtually two years within the Mustangs’ 4-0 win in opposition to Cal on Oct. 3.
• The earlier Mustang to attain a hat trick was Jelldrik Dallmann in opposition to Temple on Nov. 9, 2023.
• He scored his hat trick in opposition to Cal from the bench with solely 44 minutes of play time.

Slade Bosses The Backline

• Slade Starnes was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week twice on Sep. 30 and Oct. 28.
• He captained the Mustangs’ defensive position at hand No. 1 Stanford to its solely two shutouts and first draw and loss at house this season.
• He and the Mustangs’ backline have contained opponents to a median of solely 8.7 shot makes an attempt per sport. Limiting 5 groups (Boston College, Cal, LMU, Oral Roberts and Virginia) to 5 shot makes an attempt or much less.

SMU vs Top 25 Opponents

• SMU is 2-1-3 in opposition to Top-25 groups this season.
• The Mustangs gained 1-0 in opposition to No. 7 Stanford within the ACC Championship quarterfinals.
• SMU grabbed its first ranked win at No. 21 Notre Dame (Sep. 27).
• The Mustangs drew 1-1 in opposition to No. 2 Clemson and so they additionally drew No. 18 Kansas City 2-2 to kick off the season.
• SMU was 4-3-3 in opposition to prime 25 opponents final season after falling within the NCAA Quarterfinals to No. 8 Marshall.

Scouting Virginia

• ACC Regular season champions Virginia superior to the championship sport after defeating Cal 2-1 within the semifinals.
• Virginia’s offense is led by freshman Nicholas Simmonds, who has scored 9 objectives this season.

FIFA World Cup At Washburne Stadium

• Washburne Stadium will likely be an official coaching floor for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.