Women's Soccer With Two Big Matches on Tap This Week

Wednesday, October 25 • Dallas • Patriot Soccer Field
*St. Mary's (7-3-5, 6-2-1) at #25 DBU (8-0-4, 5-0-3) • 1 p.m.

Saturday, October 28 • San Antonio • Sigma Beta Chi Field
*UT Permian Basin (3-5-5, 1-3-4) at St. Mary's • 1 p.m. 
 

TIME CHANGE: DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER PENDING IN DALLAS, THE MATCH AT DBU ON WEDNESDAY HAS BEEN MOVED TO 1 P.M. AT THE MERCY STREET SPORTS COMPLEX. WITH HEAVY RAINS IN THE AREA, VIDEO STREAMING IS IN DOUBT.

Down to Two: The St. Mary's Women's Soccer team has three matches left in the regular season and plays the final road match on Wednesday at unbeaten DBU. The Patriots are 8-0-4 overall and ranked #25 in the national poll. The Rattlers then return home for UT Permian Basin on Saturday at 1 p.m. and West Texas A&M for Senior Day next Friday at 6 p.m.

Oh, So Close: The Rattlers are one point out of first place in the Lone Star Conference standings. Texas Woman's is 6-1-2 in league play, while StMU is 6-2-1 and DBU is one point back at 5-0-3. 

Series History: The Rattlers are looking to snap a 19-match losing streak to DBU. StMU dominated early in the series history, but the tables turned in 2011 and they now trail 18-23-1 all-time. Against UT Permian Basin the Rattlers have won four straight and hold a commanding 21-4-0 lead in the series with a 9-2 mark at home.

Pick Your Poison: Defenders can't key on one player in the St. Mary's lineup this season to shut down as four Rattlers have collected 10 or more points. It is the first time since 2016 StMU has had four players post double digits as that season Alexia Maldonado (15), Rachel Gurinsky (14), Heather Dawson (12) and Roxy Cruz Santory (10) each broke the milestone, while this year Shelby Paniagua (19), Sydney Varela (14), Alexis Truitt (11) and Juni Ejere (10) have each accomplished the feat.

Tough Defense: Junior goalkeeper Rebecca Difronzo recorded a season-high seven saves at Oklahoma Christian, only allowing a goal on a penalty kick in the 4-1 victory. She needs four more saves to become the fourth player in school history to record 200 saves in a career.

By The Numbers: The Rattlers are +13 in goals this season and +37 in shots through the first 15 games in 2023. In 11 of the last 13 matches, the StMU defense has allowed one or fewer goals. The Rattlers have 53 more shots in the second half than in the first.

Cornering The Market: St. Mary's ranks second in the Lone Star Conference and 43rd in the nation in corner kicks per game with 5.67. DBU leads the league with 7.75, while Columbus State leads the nation with 9.46.

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).

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 needs three more victories to tie for third all-time at StMU with Joe Mendoza (36-17-1).