Women's Soccer Heads to Dallas for LSC Tournament Semifinals

Friday, November 4 • Dallas • Patriot Soccer Field
#5-seed St. Mary's (12-3-4) at #1-seed DBU (14-1-1) • 4 p.m.

Sunday, November 6 • Dallas • Patriot Soccer Field
Championship Match • 1 p.m.
 

Uncharted Territory: For the first time in school history, the St. Mary's Women's Soccer team is playing in the semifinals of the Lone Star Conference Championship. The Rattlers advanced via the 3-1 win at Lubbock Christian on Tuesday.

Lone Star Tournament History: The Rattlers are 2-2 all-time in Lone Star Tournament matches, winning at Texas A&M International in the first round in 2020 before falling to Angelo State in the quarterfinals. A season ago, StMU fell 3-2 at West Texas A&M in the quarterfinals.

Top-Ranked: Friday will be the third-ever meeting for the Rattlers against the top-ranked team in the nation - and the second one this season as they face DBU. On Oct. 12, the Rattlers lost 2-1 to the Patriots. The win over #1 came against Southern Nazarene on Sept. 21, 1996, winning 3-1 at home. That was an incredible week for the Rattlers as they also beat #5 Incarnate Word 1-0 two days after beating SNU.

Strong Month: The Rattlers closed out October with only one loss in eight matches - and it was a 2-1 decision to the top-ranked team in the nation in DBU. St. Mary's was 4-1-3 during the 10th month of the year. In fact, the Rattlers have posted winning records in all three months during the season also going 2-0 in August and 5-2-1 in September.

Shout Out for Shut Outs: Sophomore GK Rebecca Difronzo has eight shutouts this season, which ranks second in a single year in St. Mary's history. Rachel Major holds the record with 10 from 1998. For her career, Difronzo has 11 shutouts, which ranks fourth on that list. 

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 an 18-game losing skid to DBU - the longest streak in school history. StMU dominated the series early before the tide turned as the teams are 18-22-1 all-time in 41 contests. 

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. 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.