SAN ANTONIO — Playing in its final exhibition match of the season, the St. Mary's University Men's Soccer team defeated Concordia University 2-1 on Friday evening.
Before the start of the match, the two teams honored Melvin Molina. Molina was an All-Region selection for the Tornados in 2022 before transferring to StMU. He was tragically killed in a car accident over the summer and the teams created the Melvin Molina Memorial Cup in his honor. The captains for both teams walked out to midfield for introductions holding his jerseys, #10 for the Tornados and #11 for the Rattlers.
On the pitch, the Rattlers struck first as senior
Juan Jose Valdez Lopez (Ascuncion, Central, Paraguay) found the back of the net in the 21st minute.
In the 57th minute, the Tornadoes leveled the score, but freshman
Gael Gallegos (Laredo, Texas) kicked the game-winner in the 80th minute on a pass from sophomore
Alexander Carey (Glasgow, Scotland).
The Rattlers conclude the exhibition season with a 2-1 record and will kick off the regular season on Thursday, Aug. 25 against UT Tyler in a non-conference contest. The match will be part of a doubleheader with the women's team, which opens their regular season against East Central at 7:30 p.m.
