Women's Soccer Travels to West Texas A&M

Saturday, October 21 • Canyon • The Pitch
St. Mary's (10-3-2, 4-3-2) at #15 West Texas A&M (12-1-2, 6-1-2) • 1 p.m.
 

Road Stretch: St. Mary's plays its second in a three-game road stretch, traveling to #15 West Texas A&M for a 1 p.m. kickoff on Saturday. The Lady Buffs are the third ranked team the Rattlers will face this season.

Canyon Times Two: This will be the second trip to Canyon this season for the Rattlers as they defeated Fort Lewis there, 3-0, on Sept. 4. In that game, Nayeli Celedon, Juni Ejere and Sydney Varela each scored a goal, while Jackie Miller had one and Kylie Von Holle chipped in two assists.

Schedule Change: The game at UT Tyler next week originally scheduled for Wednesday has been moved to Tuesday, Oct. 25. Kickoff is still slated for 5 p.m.

Double Digits: For the first time since 2015, the Rattlers have hit double figures in the win column. The team could still match or surpass the team's record for wins in a season (DII era) with 13. In 2006, 2010 and 2015 the club won 10 matches each, while both the 2002 and 2005 teams won 13.

Series History: The Rattlers are looking to snap a three-match losing skid against West Texas A&M. StMU has won only one contest in the series, trailing 1-10-3. A season ago, the Rattler lost to the Lady Buffs 3-2 in the quarterfinals of the Lone Star Tournament.

A Look Back: Last week, junior Love' Tovar scored her first goal of the season on a penalty kick in the 61st minute against top-ranked DBU. Freshman Sydney Varela scored the game-winning goal at UT Permian Basin, finding the back of the net on a breakaway in the 19th minute. It was the first game-winner of the season for Varela and her third goal. Sophomore GK Rebecca Difronzo made eight saves on the week.

Connect Four: The Rattlers recorded four consecutive shutouts, tying the school's longest streak since joining the Division II ranks (2000). The 1997 team didn't allow a goal for six-straight contests in October, while the 1998 team had two long streaks of four and five straight. St. Mary's has held opponents scoreless in five of the last six matches.

In the Record Books: Fifth-year senior D Megan Copeland tied the school record with her fifth game-winning goal of the year in the 1-0 victory against Oklahoma Christian on Oct. 8. Copeland is third in the Lone Star Conference and ranks eighth nationally with her five game-winners. She tied Kyle Hyslop from 2005 on the school's single-season charts and her eight career game-winning goals is tied for third with Deann Lopez (2004-06). The school record is 13 by Hyslop (2003-06), while Kaitie Kasperitis (2011-14) is second with 10.