Wednesday, October 18 • San Antonio • Sigma Beta Chi Field
*Texas A&M International (4-3-5, 2-2-3) at St. Mary's (6-2-5, 5-1-1) • 5 p.m.
Saturday, October 21 • Oklahoma City • Eagle Soccer Field
*St. Mary's at Oklahoma Christian (5-2-5, 1-2-4) • 1 p.m.Â
Three Weeks Remain: The St. Mary's Women's Soccer team hosts Texas A&M International on Wednesday as part of a doubleheader with the men's team before heading to Oklahoma Christian for a Saturday afternoon tilt. The Rattlers have only five games left in the regular season.
Oh, So Close: The Rattlers are one point out of first place in the Lone Star Conference standings. Texas Woman's is 5-1-2 in league play, while StMU is 5-1-1 after playing only one game last week.Â
Series History: The Rattlers hold a commanding 30-6-2 lead in the all-time series with Texas A&M International. A season ago, the teams ended in a scoreless draw in Laredo and the Rattler have won two straight at home over the Dustdevils. StMU also owns an 11-3-1 lead in the series with Oklahoma Christian and are 4-0-1 in the last five meetings. In 2022, the Rattlers won 1-0 in San Antonio with the goal coming in the 80th minute.
Home Sweet Home: St. Mary's has won its last four home contests and is unbeaten in six straight after two non-conference draws. This season, the Rattlers are outscoring their opposition 20-9 at Sigma Beta Chi Field.Â
By The Numbers: The Rattlers are +11 in goals this season and +43 in shots through the first 13 games in 2023. In 10 of the last 11 matches, the StMU defense has allowed one or fewer goals.
Cornering The Market: St. Mary's ranks second in the Lone Star Conference and 41st in the nation in corner kicks per game with 5.69. DBU leads the league with 7.80, while West Florida leads the nation with 9.23.
Lucky Number 13: Shelby Paniagua now has three game-winning goals this season, becoming the 13th player in St. Mary's history to tie for the seventh-most winners. The single season record for game-winners is five held by both Kyle Hyslop (2005) and current graduate assistant Megan Copeland (2022).
Second Half Push: The Rattlers have been more aggressive in the second half of matches this season, taking 115 shots compared to 72 in the first half. The Gold and Blue have also out-shot the opposition 115-to-78 in the second half. The Rattlers have also scored 13 goals in the second half and 11 in the first.
Win #30: The 2-1 victory over Midwestern State on Sept. 30 was the 30th of Head Coach Kevin Driggs' career. In his fourth season with the Rattlers, Driggs has increased his number of wins in every season and with four more victories he will tie for third all-time at StMU. Joe Mendoza is currently third with 36 wins (36-17-1).
Helping Hands: Ten different Rattlers have recorded an assist this season. Shelby Paniagua leads the team with four assists, while Alexis Truitt has three and Juni Ejere two.
