Women's Soccer Ends in Draw for Second-Straight Contest

SALT LAKE CITY ­– The St. Mary's University Women's Soccer team worked its second-straight draw with a 1-1 final on Sunday at Westminster University.
 
The Rattlers (1-1-2) struck first as sophomore Valerie Hover (McKinney, Texas) scored from about 30 yards out over the top of the Griffin goalkeeper. A long ball on a free kick was rebounded out to Shelby Paniagua (Cibolo, Texas), who passed it Hover after what many in the crowd believed to be a penalty in the box. Hover blasted the ball into the top left corner for the 1-0 advantage in the 30th minute.
 
The Griffins (2-1-1) knotted the score in the 36th minute after a few back-and-forth fast possessions. Sophia Digeronimo found Cassidy Jackson from a ball out wide to have the scoreboard read 1-1.
 
The two teams played quickly throughout the remainder of the match, but could not find the net, ending in a 1-1 draw.
 
Sophomore Rebecca Difronzo (Bari, Italy) made three saves, while the defense did a great job holding off the 14 shots by Westminster. 
 
Both sophomore Sydney Varela (El Paso, Texas) and senior Maggie Wirebaugh (San Antonio) also had shots on goal during the afternoon.
 
The Rattlers host Florida Southern on Thursday at 7 p.m. and UCCS on Sunday at noon in the final two non-conference matches of the season.