Friday, November 10 • Dallas • Patriot Soccer Field • Lone Star Conference Semifinals
Angelo State (9-6-4) vs St. Mary's (10-4-5) • 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 12 • Dallas • Patriot Soccer Field • Lone Star Conference Finals
Teams TBD • 1 p.m.
Semifinal Bound: The St. Mary's Women's Soccer team advanced to the semifinals of the Lone Star Conference Tournament for the third time in four seasons with a 2-0 win over rival, St. Edward's.Â
Tourney Time: This is the fourth-straight season the Rattlers have qualified for the Lone Star Conference Championship, missing the tournament only the team's first year in the league in 2019. The two-seed is the highest the Rattlers have been seeded.Â
Series History: Friday night will be the second-time the Rattler have met Angelo State in the conference tournament. In 2019, the Rambelles won 1-0 in the semifinals. ASU holds a slight 12-11-1 edge in the all-time series and the Rattlers won 3-1 during the regular season - the last time the Rambelles lost a match this season.
The Rest of the Field: The Rattlers won a 2-1 match against Midwestern State and fell 3-0 at #25 DBU during the regular season. The series with the Mustangs is now tied 7-7-2, while the Patriots have won 20 straight over StMU for a 24-18-1 lead in the all-time meetings.
Regional Rankings: In the final set of NCAA Regional rankings that were released on Nov. 6, St. Mary's ranks sixth in the South Central Region. DBU leads the region with a 12-0-4 record.Â
Quick Strike: St. Mary's scored two goals in less than a minute in the win over St. Edward's in the quarterfinals. The 28 seconds between scores is the shortest amount of time between goals this season.
Eight Is Great: Sophomore Shelby Paniagua added another goal and assist to her totals in the win over St. Edward's and now has eight of each this season for a team-leading 24 points. Her eight assists ties for the eighth-most in StMU single season history.
Close to the Top: St. Mary's ranks second in the league statistics in assists (1.37), corner kicks (6.00), and points per game (5.37), trailing only DBU. 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 (0.42) and game-winning goals (3) and Rebecca Difronzo leads the league in goalie minutes played (1686:39).
Tough Defense: Junior Rebecca Difronzo has 55 saves this season, bringing her career total to 207, which ranks fourth in St. Mary's history. She is 16 saves shy of tying for third place with Jennifer O'Connor (2001-04) with 223.
By The Numbers: The Rattlers are +16 in goals this season and +69 in shots in 2023. The Rattlers have 46 more shots in the second half than in the first and 52 more shots than their opponents after the break. StMU has taken 50 more corner kicks than the opposition, including 36 more in the second stanza.
