Brian Magloyoan

Box Score

Newman staved off the Rattlers' offensive attack Thursday.

St. Mary's STMU (8-7-2)

Newman NU (13-4-1)

St. Mary's STMU

(8-7-2)

Final

Nov. 07, 2014

Newman NU

(13-4-1)

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
St. Mary's STMU	0	0	0
Newman NU	1	0	1

Game Recap: Men's Soccer | 11/7/2014 4:54:00 PM | RattlerAthletics.com

Men's Soccer falls short in Heartland Tournament semis

By Chad Peters | St. Mary's Athletics Communications

AUSTIN, Texas — Josh Stevens fell instantly to the ground as the clock hit zeros Thursday, undoubtedly rolling through a flood of four years worth of memories as time expired on the career of the St. Mary's senior in a 1-0 defeat to Newman.

Through all the change that has overtaken St. Mary's Men's Soccer of late — a new home field and a new head coach chief among those changes — Stevens' fiery presence has been one constant for the Rattlers.

A leader throughout the offseason, Stevens delivered an emotional speech following a home loss at Sigma Beta Chi Field midway through this season, challenging his teammates to the play the game for more than just themselves.

It's with that backdrop that explains the suddenness of what hit Stevens and his Rattler teammates on Thursday as their season came to an end in the semifinals round of the Heartland Conference Tournament at St. Edward's Lewis-Chen Family Field.

Third-seeded St. Mary's (8-7-2) outshot No. 2 seed Newman (13-4-1) 14-10, winning the shots-on-goal category 6-4. StMU also drew more corner kicks, 6-4.

But Newman led the one statistic that mattered most, connecting on the game's lone goal when Lucas Hanson struck on a loose ball off a corner kick in the 22^nd minute.

Though St. Mary's dominated most of the play from then on — particularly in the second half, outshooting the Jets 9-3 in the frame — the Rattlers just couldn't find the back of the net.

Jets goalkeeper Hamersky had six saves, including three critical stops in the final 13 minutes. Alex Gonzalez fired a rocket shot from 15 yards out with just under 10 minutes left, but Hamersky got two hands on it to punch it away for one of those stops.

Mitchell Kilmer had three saves for the Rattlers.

In new coach Michael Bonelli's first season in charge, the Rattlers finished with their most victories since 2007 and their first winning season since 2002.

Stevens, the lone senior on the field for the Rattlers on Thursday, was key in the turnaround that his teammates will look to carry on in 2015.

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