No. 4 Men's Soccer Blanks George Mason, 3-0, in home opener
Craig Hill picks up third shutout of 2008 season
DALLAS (SMU) - The SMU men's soccer team - ranked No. 4 in the country in the current National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll - scored the only goal it would need in the fourth minute Friday night and junior goalkeeper Craig Hill picked up his third shutout in five games as the Mustangs cruised to a 3-0 win over George Mason in the first round of the Prego's Express Italian Men's Soccer Invitational at Westcott Field.
Senior forward Manuel Mariel scored the game-winning goal in the fourth minute. Senior midfielder Gabe Arredondo dribbled to the corner and shook a defender to fire a crossing pass toward the goal, which GMU goalkeeper didn't handle cleanly. When the ball popped free, Mariel popped it into the back of the net from point-blank range.
The 1-0 margin held up until well into the second half, when senior forward Paulo da Silva - the reigning Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week - watched a long crossing pass from senior midfielder Jeff Harwell skip off a defender and bounce right to da Silva, who buried a long shot from about 22 yards out.
Freshman Diogo de Almeida finished off the scoring with his first collegiate goal. de Almeida pounced on a GMU turnover in the 81st minute and drilled a shot from about eight yards out to account for the final scoring.
The victory keeps the Ponies undefeated, with a record of 4-0-1, as they head into tomorrow's second-round Prego's Express Italian Men's Soccer Invitational matchup with Oakland, which improved to 5-0-0 on the season with a 1-0 victory Friday over No. 15 Tulsa in the Prego's Invitational's first game. Tulsa will face George Mason at 5 p.m. Saturday, followed at 7:30 by SMU against Oakland.
For a complete schedule and ticket information, log on to SMUMustangs.com or call 214-SMU-GAME.
(BE ADVISED: THE THREAT OF INCLEMENT WEATHER MEANS SATURDAY'S GAMES MIGHT BE MOVED TO AN ALTERNATE LOCATION. LOG ON TO SMUMustangs.com FOR UPDATES.)