Wednesday, October 4 • San Antonio • Sigma Beta Chi Field • PINK OUT
*Lubbock Christian (4-1-3) at #16 St. Mary's (6-2-1) • 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 7 • Portales, N.M. • Al Whitehead Field
*#16 St. Mary's at Eastern New Mexico (2-4-2) • 8 p.m. CT/7 p.m. MT
League Action: The 16th-ranked St. Mary's Men's Soccer team begins Lone Star Conference play, hosting Lubbock Christian on Wednesday in a doubleheader with the Women's team in celebration of Pink Out, raising awareness for Breast Cancer Research. The Rattlers then play Eastern New Mexico for the second time in 10 days, traveling to Portales for a Saturday night match-up.
Clean Sweep: For the first time this season, the Rattlers swept the weekly awards from the Lone Star Conference. Sophomore Alexander Carey scored a brace against ENMU to win the offensive award, while junior defender Bradley Greene played 59 minutes in the shutout, scoring the game-winning goal for defensive player of the week and senior Andre Schlaefli was named goalkeeper after posting his second shutout of the year with four saves.
Series History: Lubbock Christian holds a slight 6-5-1 edge in the all-time series against St. Mary's. The Rattlers have won two of the last three meetings, including last season's 2-1 win in Lubbock to clinch the regular season LSC title. The Rattlers hold an 12-8-1 advantage in the all-time series and have won seven in a row against Eastern New Mexico.
Early Start: St. Mary's is 5-0 when scoring first this season and 1-2-1 when the opponent finds the back of the net first.
Hot Foot: Sophomore Alexander Carey has been hot of late, scoring four goals in the last four matches with a pair of braces against Academy of Art and Eastern New Mexico. Carey scored both of his goals last week in less than a minute, posting the team's 2nd and 3rd goals.
Nine is Fine: Nine different players have recorded an assist this season and only Cian Foley and Juan Jose Valdez Lopez have multiple assists, with two each.
Game-Winners: Senior Cian Foley has already kicked three game-winning goals in 2023, which ties for fourth in St. Mary's single season history. The school record of six is held by Pato Botello Faz from 2018. Both Faz (2017) and Que Willis (1999) are tied for second with five each. Foley ranks second in the Lone Star Conference and third in the nation, trailing MSU's Mere' Escobar by one.
Closing In: Head Coach Johnny Clifford won his 62nd career game against Eastern New Mexico to tie for second all-time and is only three victories away from tying the wins record at St. Mary's. Dave Stolarski won 65 contests from 1974-81, while Que Willis is tied for second with 62 wins (2003-13).
Keeping It Clean: The Rattlers lead the Lone Star Conference and rank third in the nation in fewest fouls per game at 6.33. Lubbock Christian ranks fifth in the nation (7.38), while DBU is seventh (7.50) and Midwestern State is eighth (7.56).
