Thursday, November 16 • Dallas • Patriot Soccer Field • NCAA First Round
St. Mary's (11-5-5) vs UCCS (12-4-3) • 1 p.m.
Saturday, November 18 • Dallas • Patriot Soccer Field • NCAA Second Round
Winner of First Round at DBU (14-0-4) • 5 p.m.
Headed to the 'Ship: For the second-straight season, the St. Mary's Women's Soccer team has earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Championship. This year, the Rattlers are the fifth seed and will face fourth seeded UCCS on Thursday at DBU.
NCAA History: St. Mary's played in its first-ever NCAA Tournament during the 2022 season, dropping a 2-1 decision to West Texas A&M at DBU. Senior Juni Ejere scored the team's lone goal in the 32nd minute. GK Rebecca Difronzo made six saves
Series History: UCCS and St. Mary's have met once before - and it happened earlier this season as the two teams tied 1-1. It was the fourth consecutive draw for the Rattlers as Alexis Truitt scored the goal in the 78th minute on a pass from Shelby Paniagua.
The Rest of the Field: The Rattlers are 0-2-2 against the entirety of the NCAA Tournament field with draws against UCCS and Texas Woman's and a pair of losses to #10 DBU this season. The Patriots have won 21 straight over StMU for a 25-18-1 lead in the series.
All-Tournament: Seniors Jackie Miller and Alexis Truitt and sophomore Shelby Paniagua were all named to the Lone Star All-Tournament team after the Rattlers reached the finals for the first time.
It's An Honor: The Rattlers had three players named to the Lone Star All-Conference First Team in Jackie Miller, Shelby Paniagua and Sydney Varela. Senior Juni Ejere was also named to the All-Academic team.
Rewriting the Books: Sophomore Shelby Paniagua has 11 assists this season, which ranks fourth in St. Mary's school history. The all-time record of 14 is held by Natalie Moore from 2002. Paniagua's 29 points also tie for the fifth-most in a single season, tying her with four others.
Tough Defense: Junior Rebecca Difronzo has 67 saves this season, bringing her career total to 219, which ranks fourth in St. Mary's history. She is four saves shy of tying for third place with Jennifer O'Connor (2001-04) with 223.
Close to the Top: St. Mary's ranks second in the league statistics in assists (1.38), corner kicks (6.05), points per game (5.29) and scoring offense (1.95), trailing only DBU in each. The Rattlers also rank in the top 65 in the nation in all three categories. Individually, Shelby Paniagua is second in the conference in assists (11) and is tied for the lead in game-winning goals (4) and Rebecca Difronzo leads the league in goalie minutes played (1862:16).
By The Numbers: The Rattlers are +15 in goals this season and +61 in shots in 2023. The Rattlers have 48 more shots in the second half than in the first and 51 more shots than their opponents after the break. StMU has taken 54 more corner kicks than the opposition, including 39 more in the second stanza.
Made to Be Broken: Rebecca Difronzo, Valerie Hover, Jackie Miller, Shelby Paniagua and Abigail Wilson will all establish a new school record for games started (22) if they start against UCCS. All five have started every match this season.
