Men's Soccer Wins in Austin for First Time in 13 Years

AUSTIN, Texas – For the first time since 2010, the St. Mary's University Men's Soccer team has won a match on the St. Edward's University campus, beating the Hilltoppers 2-1 in a non-conference tilt.
 
The Hilltoppers (0-5-1) reinstated their program this season after discontinuing it after the conclusion of the 2019 season and the Rattlers (5-2-1) welcomed them back with a goal each half for the 2-1 victory.
 
"This was a good win today," said Head Coach Johnny Clifford. "Rivalry games are always different, and I felt like St. Edward's really wanted this one. They made it ugly, and to be honest, we fell into the trap. However, it's a good bounce-back win and it's been 13 years since our last win at the Hilltop and that's a big positive for us to build on!"
 
Freshman Gael Gallegos (Laredo, Texas) scored for the second-straight contest, as senior Juan Jose Valdez Lopez (Asuncion, Central, Paraguay) found Gallegos streaking down the left side of the pitch for the first goal of the afternoon in the 28th minute.
 
The Hilltoppers evened the score in the 40th minute and the teams entered the locker room knotted 1-1 at the break.
 
On a free kick after the water break in the second half, senior Jose Llano (Mexico City, Mexico) sent the ball from midfield to the right corner of the box, where senior Dani Gimena (Ondara, Alicante, Spain) headed the ball to senior Santiago Nunez (Bogota, Colombia), who found the back of the net for the first game-winning goal of his Rattlers career.
 
The Rattlers close out the non-conference portion of the schedule on Wednesday, Sept. 27 when they host Eastern New Mexico at 7 p.m. at Sigma Beta Chi Field.