NCAA Round of 16 & QuarterFinalsÂ
Thursday, November 17 • San Antonio • Sigma Beta Chi Field
#3 Cal St. Dominguez Hills (15-1-5) vs. NW Nazarene (14-3-3) • 3 p.m.
#9 Colorado St. Pueblo (16-3-2) at #5 St. Mary's (12-1-6) • 6 p.m.
Saturday, November 19 • San Antonio • Sigma Beta Chi Field
Winners Advance • 6 p.m.
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Continuing to Host: St. Mary's will host the Round of 16 and Quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history in its second-ever appearance. The Rattlers are now 2-1 all-time in NCAA action after defeating Lone Star foe Midwestern State, 1-0 in the Second Round.
Familiar Foe: For the second-straight NCAA match, the Rattlers will be playing a rematch from earlier in the year as they face Colorado State Pueblo in the Third Round. Back on Sept. 7 the Rattlers won 2-1 in Pueblo. Senior Ariel Cardozo scored both goals in the game, hitting both within 70 seconds of each other.
All-Region: The D2CCA announced the South Central All-Region teams on Tuesday and the Rattlers had four First Team and two Second Team picks to lead all South Central Region schools. Ariel Cardozo and Cian Foley both were named to the Second Team, while Deni Cresto, Andrick Ferrer, Andre Schlaefli and Lewis Wilson all garnered First Team honors.
Last Time Out: The Rattlers defeated Midwestern State for the second-time this season with a 1-0 win in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. The defense broke the Lone Star Conference record for shutouts in a season with its 13th clean sheet, while sophomore Andrick Ferrer scored on a pass from senior Juan Jose Valdez Lopez in the 61st minute.
Managing The Minutes: Lone Star Conference Newcomer of the Year Ariel Cardozo has played in all 90 minutes in 17 of his 18 games this season and those 1,603 minutes played is tied for 10th on the single-season charts in St. Mary's history.
A Helping Hand: Senior Deni Cresto has eight assists this season to lead the Lone Star Conference. It is also tied for the ninth-most in single season school history.
Series History: The Rattlers are 1-3-1 all-time against Colorado State Pueblo after the 2-1 win earlier this season. The Thunderwolves won the only meeting in San Antonio, 1-0 back in 2007. Either opponent in the quarterfinals, Cal State Dominguez Hills or Northwest Nazarene would be a first-time opponent for StMU.
Hardware: The Rattlers dominated the awards given by the Lone Star Conference. In a vote of the coaches, senior Lewis Wilson was named both the Player of the Year and the Defensive Player of the Year, junior Andre Schlaefli was selected as the Goalkeeper of the Year, Johnny Clifford earned Coach of the Year, senior Ariel Cardozo is the Newcomer of the Year and freshman Calum Murdoch was tabbed as the Freshman of the Year. The Rattlers also had six named to the First Team, two to the Second Team and three on the All-Academic Team
Nation's Leaders: Junior goalkeeper Andre Schlaefli is tied for the nation's lead in shutouts with 12 and is second in save percentage (.906) and goals against average (0.287). The Rattlers as a team rank second in the Division II stats (199 teams) in save percentage (.891). The squad also ranks third in both shutout percentage (.684) and goals against average (.316).
Made To Be Broken: Both junior goalkeeper Andre Schlaefli and the Rattlers have broken the Lone Star Conference single season shutout records. Schlaefli has 12, while the team has 13 this year. Midwestern State's Raul Herrera had 11 shutouts in 2009 for the previous individual record, while MSU posted 12 shutouts in four consecutive seasons from 2007-10 and West Texas A&M had 12 in 2009.
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 11 goals (of the team's 34 this season). In fact, Lewis Wilson is tied for the team lead with four goals, while Ariel Cardozo and Andrick Ferrer have three and Bradley Greene has one.
