#10 Men's Soccer Readies for WT & OC

Wednesday, October 12 • San Antonio • Sigma Beta Chi Field
West Texas A&M (3-2-6, 1-0-2) at #10 St. Mary's (7-0-4, 3-0) • 7:30 p.m. 

Saturday, October 15 • Oklahoma City • Eagle Soccer Field
#10 St. Mary's at Oklahoma Christian (8-2-2, 2-1) • 5:30 p.m.

Double Trouble: The St. Mary's Men's Soccer team will play the second game of a doubleheader on Wednesday, hosting West Texas A&M at 7:30 p.m. after the women's team hosts DBU. The Rattlers also travel to Oklahoma Christian for a 5:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday.

Hang 10: The Rattlers jumped eight spots to #10 in the United Soccer Coaches poll this week, tying for the highest-ranking in school history.  StMU reached as high as 10th in the eighth week of the 2019 season and in week one of 2020. The team also ranks second in the South Central Region, trailing only CSU-Pueblo, which the Rattlers beat 2-1 back on Sept. 7.

Six For Six: The St. Mary's defense has been awarded the Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week all six weeks the team has competed this year (out of seven). Sophomore Andrick Ferrer earned his second award of the year after helping lead the back line to a shutout win over DBU for the team's eighth consecutive clean sheet. Ferrer assisted on both goals in the 2-0 victory, then added a goal of his own in the 4-1 win at UT Permian Basin, scoring the team's third goal in the 72nd minute.

All Things Must Come To An End: For the first time in 788 minutes an opponent scored on the Rattlers defense when UTPB connected on a penalty kick in the 54th minute Saturday to tie the score at 1-1. St. Mary's retaliated by scoring three goals in just over four minutes beginning in the 68th minutes for a 4-1 victory to win its fourth-consecutive game.

Fast To 50: Head Coach Johnny Clifford won the 50th game of his career on Wednesday against DBU and on Saturday tied Lance Noble for third on the all-time wins list in St. Mary's history with his 51st. Noble was 51-23-2 in his four seasons, while Clifford is currently 51-18-11 in his fifth year. Dave Stolarski (1974-81) holds the school record with 65 wins, while Que Willis is second with 62 (2003-13).

Series History: The Rattlers are now 6-21-3 all-time against West Texas A&M after the teams drew 1-1 in the season opener. A season ago, StMU won both meetings between the squads. St. Mary's also holds an 8-3-2 lead in the series against Oklahoma Christian and has won the last three meetings between the clubs. The Rattlers have not lost to the Eagles since 2012, sporting a 7-0-2 mark since that game.

Tough Line: 
• St. Mary's ranks second in the nation in save percentage (.912), third in shutout percentage (.727) and goals against average (0.273). The Rattlers also lead the Lone Star Conference in assists/game (2.18), goal differential (+21), points/game (6.55) and win/loss percentage (.818). 
• The eight shutouts on the year is tied for the third most in Division II and is three behind leaders Franklin Pierce with 11.
• St. Mary's has allowed only three goals all season, which is tied for the lead in all of Division II with Franklin Pierce and Mercyhurst.
• The eight consecutive shutouts shatters the school record of four straight from the 2002 season.