DALLAS, TX — Washburne Stadium turned into the Mukisa Emmanuel show on Sunday night as SMU Men’s Soccer took care of business with a commanding 2-1 win over Oral Roberts. The scoreline may say "tight," but don't let it fool you — this was a tactical masterclass wrapped in a shooting gallery, with SMU outshooting ORU 18 to 2 and holding the Golden Eagles hostage in their own half for most of the 90.
It was physical. It was relentless. It was a statement.
And it might just be the night a new Mustang star officially arrived.
Call it a breakout. Call it a brace. Just don’t call it a fluke.
Mukisa Emmanuel, in just his fourth appearance for SMU, introduced himself to the home crowd with two poacher’s goals that proved the difference — his first-ever tallies for the Mustangs and the team’s first brace since Kyran Chambron-Pinho’s double against then-No. 5 Stanford last fall. High praise. Big shoes. But on Sunday night, the moment belonged entirely to Emmanuel.
The first came early, in the 12th minute, off a chaos-seeded sequence that started with Jaylinn Mitchell’s whipped-in cross. ORU keeper Joao Mesquita did his best volleyball impression to punch it out, but Daniel Escorcia was lurking. The veteran midfielder settled, laid it off, and Emmanuel hammered it home from point-blank range like he was born in the six-yard box.
Goal No. 2? Same energy, more drama. In the 75th, SMU’s press triggered a turnover at the edge of the box — Landon Hickam brought the heat, Ryan Clanton-Pimentel scooped up the loose ball, and found Milton Lopez inside the 18. The shot was saved. The rebound? Emmanuel again, crashing the party and cashing the check.
Clinical. Ruthless. Efficient.
Let’s not sugarcoat this: SMU absolutely cooked ORU in open play.
By halftime, the Mustangs had taken 9 shots to ORU’s 0. By full-time, it was 18-2. The midfield trio dictated tempo like conductors. Luis Flores and Charles-Emile Brunet nearly added more spice with close-range rips, and the Mustangs tallied six corner kicks to ORU’s one. The only thing SMU didn’t do was bury a third goal to shut the door entirely.
To ORU’s credit, their counter finally landed in the 80th minute when Benjamin Morgan — off the bench, mind you — managed to sneak past the SMU backline on a transition break and put the visitors on the board. His finish, assisted by Leonardo De Almeida Seixas, was clean. But it was too little, too late.
The SMU defense immediately tightened the screws. Not another shot came. The comeback died before it had a chance to breathe.
The match was already tilting hard toward SMU before the 75th minute, but it was that second goal — born from grit and quick decision-making at the edge of the box — that broke Oral Roberts’ back. Hickam’s tackle wasn’t just clean; it was tone-setting. The follow-up from Clanton-Pimentel and the smart centering pass to Lopez made it feel inevitable.
And when Emmanuel cleaned up the scraps for his second?
Game. Set. No need for penalties.
Let’s zoom out.
This win pushes SMU to 2-1-1, a record that doesn’t exactly scream national title — but the vibe does. The team is deep, aggressive, and pressing with intent, and if Emmanuel continues his upward trajectory, the Mustangs just found themselves a legitimate attacking threat for conference play.
On top of that, Escorcia’s return gives this midfield a much-needed connective tissue. There’s flow. There’s pressure. There’s purpose.
This isn’t last year’s team trying to find itself. This year’s squad knows who they are — and on Sunday, they imposed that identity for 90 minutes.
SMU heads west to face Grand Canyon University on September 4 — a road test that promises to be scrappy, humid, and hostile. GCU is no cupcake, and they’ll punish any lapses in defensive focus. But if this version of the Mustangs shows up?
We like their odds.
Sunday night was a soft launch for what could be a full-blown Mukisa Emmanuel era. Two goals in a game where SMU looked hungry, organized, and completely unbothered defensively.
And yeah, Oral Roberts scored late. But in truth?
This wasn’t a game. It was a flex.
Welcome to Washburne. The Mustangs are back.
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