Wednesday, October 18 • San Antonio • Sigma Beta Chi Field • BATTLE OF THE SAINTS
*St. Edward's (0-7-4, 0-2-2) at #RV St. Mary's (7-3-3, 1-1-2) • 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 21 • Dallas • Patriot Soccer Field
*#RV St. Mary's at DBU (4-6-2, 1-2-1) • 7 p.m.
Countdown Has Begun: Only three weeks in the regular season remain as the St. Mary's Men's Soccer team hosts the annual Battle of the Saints on Wednesday and travels to DBU on Saturday. The teams are tied in the rivalry battle as volleyball won last week and St. Ed's won in women's soccer on Sept. 27.
Series History: Wednesday will be the second meeting this year between St. Edward's and the Rattlers. StMU won 2-1 on Sept. 23 and is now 22-48-7 all-time against the Hilltoppers. The Rattlers are 12-22-4 at home in the rivalry series. StMU holds a 29-7-0 advantage over DBU in the series history. The Rattlers won both meetings last year by the 2-0 score and have won three straight.
Making His Mark: Senior Cian Foley moved into sole possession of fourth place on the St. Mary's single-season charts with his fourth game-winner against Oklahoma Christian. Foley is currently tied with Mere Escobar from Midwestern State for the league lead with four game-winners and the pair are tied for sixth in the nation. Foley also moved into second in St. Mary's career history with eight game-winners, taking the spot from Jack Wolf (2012-15) who kicked seven in his stellar career.
Early Start: St. Mary's is 6-0-1 when scoring first this season and 1-3-2 when the opponent finds the back of the net first.
Get It Gael: Freshman Gael Gallegos became the third different Rattler this season to score multiple goals in a match with two goals in an eight-minute stretch in the first half against Lubbock Christian. He joins senior Cian Foley (twice) and sophomore Alexander Carey with multiple-goal games in 2023.
Double Digit Helpers: Ten different players have recorded an assist this season and Avery Estell (2), Cian Foley (5) and Juan Jose Valdez Lopez (2) each have multiple assists.
Closing In: Head Coach Johnny Clifford won his 63rd career game against Oklahoma Christian to move into second all-time and is only two victories away from tying the wins record at St. Mary's. Dave Stolarski won 65 contests from 1974-81, while Que Willis was second with 62 wins (2003-13).
Keeping It Clean: The Rattlers lead the Lone Star Conference and rank second in the nation in fewest fouls per game at 6.31. Shaw leads the nation with only 4.67 fouls. Lubbock Christian, DBU and Midwestern State also rank in the top 10 with the Chaps fourth (7.92), the Patriots seventh (8.50) and the Mustangs tied for 10th (8.69).
