Wednesday, October 19 • San Antonio • Sigma Beta Chi Field
#RV Midwestern State (8-3-2, 2-3) at #8 St. Mary's (8-0-5, 4-0-1) • 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 22 • Lubbock • LCU Soccer & Track Facility
#8 St. Mary's at Lubbock Christian (6-5-3, 3-1-1) • 5 p.m.
Tough Week: The St. Mary's Men's Soccer team faces a tough week in hosting Midwestern State on Wednesday and traveling to second-place Lubbock Christian on Saturday. The Mustangs are receiving votes in the most recent United Soccer Coaches poll.
Eight Is Great: The Rattlers climbed two more spots in the United Soccer Coaches poll this week - the highest-ever ranking for men's soccer. It is the sixth-straight week StMU has appeared in the poll and the 21st week in the history of the program they've been in the top 25. The Rattlers also overtook Colorado State-Pueblo for first in the South Central Region ranking and are the only team in the region without a loss in 2022.
Nation's Leaders: Junior goalkeeper Andre Schlaefli now leads the nation in shutouts with nine and is second in both goals against average (0.242) and save percentage (.921). The Rattlers as a team rank second in the Division II stats (199 teams) in save percentage (.923) and is just 0.002 off the lead of .925 by Mercyhurst. The squad also ranks third in both shutout percentage (.769) and goals against average (.231).
Defense to Offense: The Rattlers have one of the best defensive lines in the nation, and the starting four are also a threat to score as they have nine goals (of the team's 25 this season). In fact, both Ariel Cardozo and Lewis Wilson are tied for the team lead with three goals each, while Andrick Ferrer has two and Bradley Greene has one.
Series History: The Rattlers are just 4-34 all-time against the Mustangs of Midwestern State and are looking to snap a three-match losing streak. Three of the four wins in the series have come since 2019. Lubbock Christian holds the slight 4-6-1 edge in the series with the Rattlers. The Chaps won 4-2 a season ago in San Antonio.
Fast To 50: Head Coach Johnny Clifford won the 50th game of his career against DBU on Oct. 5 and the win at Oklahoma Christian on Saturday moved him into sole possession of third place on the all-time wins list in St. Mary's history. Clifford is currently 52-18-12 in his fifth year. Dave Stolarski (1974-81) holds the school record with 65 wins, while Que Willis is second with 62 (2003-13).
Oh Captain, My Captain: Field captains Deni Cresto and Lewis Wilson have played in a lot of games together at St. Mary's. The game against Midwestern State will be the 71st start for Wilson and the 60th for Cresto. Wilson now ranks second in school history with his 70 starts, while Wednesday's start will move Cresto into a tie for sixth with Pato Botello Faz (2015-18). Wilson has also shattered the school record for minutes played with 6,254:05, breaking the previous record of 5,413 by Kyle Farrell (2006-09).
On Pace: Junior GK Andre Schlaefli is on pace to break the school's single season record for goals against average. The current record is 0.48 by Jasen Anno in 1992 and Schlaefli's average is 0.242 through 13 games.
