SMU women’s soccer hosts Southern Thursday night in Dallas, with Brooke Bunton rolling and Nicole Nelson chasing career win No. 100 at Washburne Stadium.
SMU women’s soccer has started to find its rhythm, and Thursday night brings another chance to keep that momentum moving.
The Mustangs host Southern at 7 p.m. CT at Washburne Stadium, carrying a 2-1-1 record and an unbeaten home mark into the matchup. SMU has already outscored opponents 7-1 in Dallas, and the offense is coming off its best performance of the young season.
That performance belonged in large part to Brooke Bunton.
Bunton scored twice in SMU’s 5-1 win over Incarnate Word, recording the first brace of her career and pushing her season total to three goals and six points.
She currently ranks among the ACC leaders in both categories and has quickly become the focal point of an attack that has produced 10 goals through four matches.
The supporting cast has been just as encouraging.
Freshmen Kamiya Beck and Julianne Richter each have three assists, tying them for the ACC lead. SMU is one of only two teams in the conference with two players already sitting at three assists.
That kind of balance matters for a roster that went through major offseason change.
Head coach Nicole Nelson added 17 newcomers, including 10 freshmen and seven transfers, yet the Mustangs have already shown signs of chemistry.
Seven different players have scored this season, while Kaylee Noble leads the team with 11 shots.
Thursday also carries a little extra weight for Nelson.
She enters the match with 99 career victories, meaning a win over Southern would give her No. 100. Nelson has won 37 of those games at SMU and owns a 24-11-5 home record with the Mustangs.
Southern and SMU have met only once before. The Mustangs won that matchup 2-0 last season, with Zoe Parkhurst scoring her first goal in an SMU uniform.
The bigger picture is even more interesting.
SMU received votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll earlier this season, its first national recognition since 2022.
The Mustangs also face a brutal ACC schedule ahead that includes Stanford, Duke, North Carolina, Virginia and Florida State.
That makes games like Thursday’s important.
SMU needs to keep stacking wins, keep building confidence and keep sharpening an offense that finally looks dangerous.
Against Southern, the Mustangs have a chance to do all three.
