SMU men’s soccer shuts out Bradley

by PegNews wire

#5 Mustangs led by goalkeeper Steve Sandbo, who recorded his fifth shutout of the season.

Junior forward Scott Geppert scored his sixth goal of the season and senior goalkeeper Steve Sandbo picked up his fifth shutout of the season as the SMU men's soccer team blanked former conference rival Bradley, 1-0.

The Mustangs, ranked No. 5 in the newest Soccer America magazine national poll, improved to 12-3-2 overall, and 6-1-1 in Conference USA games. Bradley fell to 11-5-3 overall, 3-0-2 Missouri Valley Conference. The victory gave SMU a 4-3-3 advantage in the series between the schools, which used to compete regularly when SMU was a member of the MVC.

Junior forward Scott Geppert scored the game's only goal in the 16th minute. Senior midfielder Scott Corbin lifted a free kick from 22 yards toward the far post, where Geppert rose above the Bradley defense and headed the ball almost straight down, bouncing the shot past Bradley goalkeeper Mike Haynes and just inside the left post. Despite missing the first five games of the year, Geppert now has six goals this season, one short of the team lead.

Both teams had several offensive chances in the hard-fought game, and Haynes and SMU netminder Steve Sandbo kept the score down with strong performances; Bradley had just one shot on goal but had several near-misses, while Geppert had all three of SMU's shots on goal.

The Mustangs close out the regular season Friday night against Central Arkansas at 7:30 p.m. at Westcott Field.

Source: SMU