DALLAS (SMU) – The SMU women's soccer team clinched a spot in the 2017 American Athletic Conference Tournament by way of a 1-0 shutout against Houston in the regular-season finale at Westcott Field Thursday night.

With the win, SMU will play in the AAC tournament for the second straight year, and the fourth time in the last five seasons. SMU will play in its eighth conference tournament in the last nine seasons. The Mustangs improved to 9-6-3 overall and 4-4-1 in league play, while Houston finished its season at 7-9-1 and 3-6-0 in The American.

With just over seven minutes expired, freshman Hannah Allred netted the eventual game-winner to give SMU a 1-0 lead. After saving a cross that nearly rolled over the end line, Allie Thornton served a cross into the penalty box, where a Houston defender managed to break up the serve. A misrouted volley by the Cougar defender ricocheted off the cross bar and to the feet of a crashing Allred, who buried it for her fourth goal of the season.

The SMU offense kept the Houston defense busy during the opening 45 minutes, recording 15 of its 19 total shots in the first period. SMU finished the match with seven shots on goal. Eleven different players recorded a shot, with seven recording two or more. Thornton led the Mustangs with three shots.

In the defensive third, SMU allowed just eight shots on the night, with one on goal. The Mustangs smothered the Cougar offense in the first half, allowing just two shots. The Mustangs now have seven clean sheets on the year, the most since 2013. SMU has shutout its last four opponents and hasn't allowed a goal in 362:26 minutes.

Looking forward, SMU will head to Florida to play in the American Athletic Conference Tournament. The location, which is determined by the regular-season champion, will be set following the UCF (22 pts) versus USF (21 pts) match Saturday. Pending the result of the Connecticut/Temple match, SMU will be either the No. 5 or No. 6 seed. SMU's opponent will be determined following the Memphis/Tulsa and Cincinnati/East Carolina matches. Memphis and Cincinnati are both tied for third with 14 points in conference play.

Last season, SMU advanced to the American Athletic Conference Tournament Championship match. SMU opened the tournament with a 1-1 draw against UCF, but advanced on penalty kicks 3-2, before beating Memphis, 1-0, in the semifinal match. SMU finished as runner-up after a 1-0 loss to Connecticut.

SMU holds a 20-11-3 all-time conference tournament record, with six conference tournament titles. The Mustangs won the first Southwest Conference (SWC) Tournament title in 1995, before winning five tournament championships while in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) (1997, 99, 2002, 03, 04). In the American Athletic Conference Tournament, SMU is 2-2-1 all-time.

For more information on the upcoming matches, visit SMUMustangs.com.

--SMUMustangs.com--

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