Enzo Panozzo’s second-half header lifts No. 5 SMU past NC State 1-0 as the unbeaten Mustangs continue their dominant start to ACC play.
No. 5 SMU didn’t need another offensive explosion Friday night.
It just needed Enzo Panozzo and another suffocating defensive performance.
Panozzo scored the only goal of the match in the 65th minute as SMU men’s soccer defeated NC State 1-0 at Washburne Stadium, keeping the Mustangs unbeaten at 7-0-1 and improving them to 2-0 in ACC play.
The breakthrough came after a scoreless first half.
Ryan Clanton-Pimentel recycled a free-kick opportunity and floated a ball toward the far post, where Panozzo rose and directed a header across goal and into the right side of the net.
It was Panozzo’s third goal of the season and fifth during his SMU career.
Clanton-Pimentel picked up his third assist of the year and ninth as a Mustang.
SMU controlled much of the night offensively, outshooting NC State 14-8 and putting five attempts on goal compared with only two for the Wolfpack. The Mustangs also held a 6-5 advantage in corner kicks.
But the larger story continues to be what SMU is doing defensively.
Goalkeeper Jonathan Evans and the Mustangs posted their fifth clean sheet in eight matches, and SMU has surrendered only three goals all season.
That’s an absurdly stingy number for a team that has already opened ACC competition.
Kevin Hudson’s squad has now outscored opponents 23-3 through eight games while producing the program’s best conference start since joining the ACC.
NC State briefly gained control early in the second half, but SMU regained its rhythm around the hour mark and found the winner shortly afterward.
From there, the Mustangs protected the advantage.
Evans finished with two saves, while NC State goalkeeper Samuel Terranova stopped four of SMU’s five shots on target.
The win also came in front of a significant crowd.
Attendance at Washburne Stadium was 2,097, the largest regular-season crowd in the venue’s history.
SMU also evened its all-time series with NC State at 2-2.
There weren’t any postgame player or coach quotes included in SMU’s official recap, so none are being manufactured here. The numbers say enough.
Eight matches.
Seven wins.
Five shutouts.
Three goals allowed.
And now, a 2-0 start in one of the toughest conferences in college soccer.
SMU heads back on the road next, visiting Virginia Tech on Sept. 27 with its unbeaten record still intact.
