Wednesday, September 20 • San Antonio • Sigma Beta Chi Field
*UT Tyler (2-1-2) at St. Mary's (1-1-4) • 5 p.m.Â
Saturday, September 23 • Lubbock • LCU Soccer & Track Facility
St. Mary's at Lubbock Christian (3-1-2) • 1 p.m.Â
Kicking Off League Play: St. Mary's begins Lone Star Conference play hosting UT Tyler on Wednesday at 5 p.m. before heading west to Lubbock Christian on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Rattlers are 2-2 all-time in Lone Star Conference openers and this will be the first opener against the Patriots.
Series History: The Rattlers are 1-1 all-time against UT Tyler, winning last season 1-0 and falling in the first meeting 2-0 back in 2019. StMU trails 8-5-3 in the series with Lubbock Christian, but have won two of the last three matches (with one tie), including last season's 3-1 win in the Lone Star Conference Tournament.
It's An Honor: Sophomore MF Shelby Paniagua was named the Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Tuesday after having a hand in both goals for the Rattlers last week. She scored the goal against Florida Southern and had the assist against UCCS for the first weekly honor of her career.
It's A Draw: The Rattlers have established a new record for consecutive ties as they have ended in a draw the last four matches. Four other times in school history a team has had back-to-back ties. The four draws this season is also one off the school record of five in a year by the 2006 squad.
Second Half Push: Six of the team's 10 goals this season have happened in the second half. The latest score this season was in the 87th minute by sophomore Eliza Cerda against Mississippi College. On the flip side, the earliest goal scored this year was in the 17th minute in the season opener against East Central by sophomore Shelby Paniagua.Â
Holding the Line: Senior Jackie Miller has played all 90 minutes in each of the last five matches and 531 of the possible 540 minutes this season. In two seasons plus six contests, Miller has played 3,729 minutes for the Rattlers, anchoring the defense since 2021. Throughout her career (two seasons at UTEP), Miller has been on the pitch for 6,037 minutes.
Then, For Now: Sophomore D Paola Then will miss the next several matches for the Rattlers as she travels home to the Dominican Republic to play for her U20 National Team. Then has played in three games this season for StMU with one shot on goal.
Inching Closer: Junior GK Rebecca Difronzo has two shutouts this season to bring her career total to 13, moving her into second on the St. Mary's career charts. She needs two more to tie the school record of 15 by Alyssa Taramona (2012-15).
