Women's Soccer Wins 2-1 Over Falcons

SAN ANTONIO — The first goal of a collegiate career is always special, but it has that extra oomph when it's in front of a home crowd and a game-winner when the team is in the middle of a playoff chase.
 
St. Mary's University sophomore Bella Brigman (San Antonio) kicked the game-winner in the 80th minute on a flick into the lower right corner of the net on a pass from sophomore Sydney Varela (El Paso, Texas) to give the Rattlers (8-4-5, 7-3-1 Lone Star Conference) a 2-1 victory over UT Permian Basin (4-6-5, 2-4-4 Lone Star) on Saturday afternoon.
 
Senior Juni Ejere (Weatherford, Texas) put the Rattlers on the board first, taking a long pass from senior Jackie Miller (El Paso) in the 26th minute for the 1-0 lead. The Falcons knotted the score in the 68th minute on a chip from the far side of the field that snuck over Rebecca Difronzo's (Bari, Italy) hands.
 
The Rattlers were extremely aggressive all day, taking a season-high 23 shots with seven shots on goal and eight corner kicks. The defense also limited the Falcons to seven shots with Difronzo making one save in each half.
 
The Rattlers are 7-3-1 in conference play with one game remaining, next Friday against West Texas A&M at 7:30 p.m. for Senior Night. The Lady Buffs dropped a 3-1 decision at Midwestern State on Saturday.