Women's Soccer Heads to ASU; Hosts TWU

Wednesday, September 21 • San Angelo • ASU Soccer Field
St. Mary's (7-1, 1-1) at Angelo State (7-0-1, 2-0) • 7 p.m.

Saturday, September 24 • San Antonio • Sigma Beta Chi Field
Texas Woman's (1-4-2) at St. Mary's • 1 p.m.
 

Split Week: For the second-straight week, the Rattlers play one on the road and one at home, traveling to Angelo State on Wednesday before hosting Texas Woman's on Saturday at 1 p.m. The game Saturday is part of a triple header on campus as volleyball plays at 2 p.m. and men's soccer at 7 p.m.

Bounce Back: StMU had its six-match winning streak snapped in the conference home opener against St. Edward's, but immediately responded with a 4-3 win at Midwestern State. The Rattlers four goals came by four different players, including the game winner by senior Megan Copeland on a free kick after a yellow card. Senior Tori Permillion also scored her first goal of the season.

Series History: The Rattlers snapped a seven-game losing skid to Angelo State last season and are looking to tie the series up as they trail 10-11-1 all-time. StMU is 5-6 in San Angelo and 5-5-1 at home. The Rattlers are 5-1-1 all-time against Texas Woman's with a 3-1 mark at home.

Earning Respect: Other Division II coaches are taking notice of the Rattlers best start in school history as the team is getting votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll for the second-straight week. It is the first time since 2001 the team has been nationally ranked or gotten votes in the national rankings.

Best Start Ever: The 6-0 start to the season is the best start in school history, bettering a 5-0 start by three different teams.

Made To Be Broken: St. Mary's is only eight games into its season and already senior Megan Copeland is tied for sixth in single season history with three game-winning goals. Copeland's total is the most in a year since Heather Dawson also had three game winners in 2016. She needs just two more to tie the school record of five from Kyle Hyslop in 2005. Copeland also ranks fourth in the nation and is tied for  the Lone Star Conference lead in the 2022 statistics.

It's An Honor: Senior Juni Ejere was named the Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week each of the first two weeks of the season, while fellow senior Megan Copeland earned Defensive Player of the Week honors last week. 

Goals-a-Plenty: St. Mary's has scored 25 times in the first eight games of the season with 10 different players finding the back of the net. Senior Juni Ejere leads the team with eight, while Megan Copeland has four, and Eliza Merrion has three. Copeland also leads the way with four assists, while Merrion and Ejere each has three.