SMU men’s soccer delivered an outstanding performance Sunday afternoon, shutting out the Virginia Cavaliers 6-0 in the ACC Men’s Soccer Championship quarterfinals at Washburne Stadium. The win sends the Mustangs to the ACC semifinals in Cary, North Carolina, as they continue their pursuit of a second consecutive conference tournament championship.
Coming into this matchup, SMU had a 12-0-3 record and entered the ACC tournament as the No. 1 seed and ACC regular season champions. The Mustangs carried that energy into the quarterfinals, maintaining possession and establishing a dominant offensive rhythm from the get-go.
SMU started off with a bang, with sophomore midfielder Landon Hickam scoring the opening goal off an assist from midfielder Andre Philibbosian, giving the Mustangs an early 1-0 lead. Less than four minutes later, junior defender Ryan Clanton-Pimentel set the ball up for senior forward Milton Lopez to strike a header into the net to make it 2-0.
The Mustangs continued their offensive pressure, using their speed in the attacking third and quick passing combinations to move the ball. Their ability to find open space and fluidly connect passes allowed them to maintain stro...