LAREDO, Texas - For the first time since the 2005 season, the St. Mary's Women's Soccer earned a win in a conference tournament. The No. 5 seed Rattlers took down the No. 4 seed Dustdevils, 2-0, revenging a 2-0 loss in San Antonio back on February 24.
The first half was a battle between the Rattlers and Dustdevils as each team had two scoring opportunities but neither was able to find the back of the net. St. Mary's opportunities came just 30 seconds apart as
Serena Frank and
Gabby Olsen each put shots on frame in the 9th and 10th minutes. St. Mary's goalkeeper,
Cameron Koerner made saves in the 6th and 20th minutes to keep the game scoreless.
St. Mary's got on the board first in the 57th minute after a Dustdevil foul resulted in a free kick in the Rattlers attacking half.
Megan Copeland lined up to take the free kick and bent a ball from left to right into the box. A clearance attempt from TAMIU failed and instead found the back of the net for an own-goal, giving St. Mary's a 1-0 advantage.
With a 1-0 lead, the Rattlers defense remained solid and allowed just two Dustdevils shots on goal for the remainder of the match. In the 87th minute, Olsen forced a Texas A&M International turnover in their own zone. With the TAMIU keeper out of position, Olsen buried her third goal of the season to seal the St. Mary's victory.
Frank and Olsen each finished with two shots on goal in the win.
With the win, the Rattler advance to the quarterfinal round of the Lone Star Conference Women's Soccer Championship against Angelo State University on April 6 in San Angelo.
