This Week in Rattlers Soccer
Wednesday, Oct. 23 • Sul Ross State (6-6-0, 2-3-0) at #25 St. Mary's (9-2-2, 5-0-0) • 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 26 • #25 St. Mary's at Oklahoma Christian (5-5-3, 2-3-1) • 3:30 p.m.
Important Weeks Ahead: With only three weeks remaining in the regular season, every match looms large as the St. Mary's Men's Soccer team hopes to maintain its hold on first place in the Lone Star Conference standings. This week, the Rattlers host Sul Ross State on Wednesday before traveling to Oklahoma Christian on Saturday afternoon.
All-Time with Sul Ross State: Wednesday will be the first-ever meeting between St. Mary's and Sul Ross. Surprisingly, the two teams only have three common opponents so far this season in Eastern New Mexico, Lubbock Christian and Midwestern State. The Lobos are 1-2 with a win at LCU against the three teams, while the Rattlers are 2-1 with a loss to MSU.
All-Time with Oklahoma Christian: St. Mary's holds a 10-5-2 lead in the series with Oklahoma Christian, but the Eagles have won two of the last three - each on November 4 the last two years, knocking the Rattlers out of the LSC Tournament. In Oklahoma City, the Rattlers are 5-2-2 and are unbeaten in the last six contests there (4-0-2).
A Goal a Dozen: Twelve different Rattlers have now scored a goal this season, as both senior Sofian Maghouz and junior Enzo Jaques scored for the first time at Texas A&M International on Saturday. The 12 players with goals is tied for the second-most in the Johnny Clifford era at St. Mary's, tied with the 2019 team. In 2022, 16 Rattlers found the back of the net.
You Get a Point! You Get a Point!: There are also 15 players on the roster with at least one point this season. Sophomore Gael Gallegos leads the club with 17 points (7 G, 3 A), while Sofian Maghouz and junior Calum Murdoch are tied for second with six points each.
Lone Star Leaders: St. Mary's leads the Lone Star Conference statistics in corner kicks per game (6.15), goal differential (+14), save percentage (.810), shutout percentage (.462), and goals against average (.615). The Rattlers also rank second in assists per game (1.62), shots per game (16.46), and win-loss percentage (.769). All of those numbers also rank in the top 50 in the nation.
Getting the Jump: St. Mary's is 9-0-0 this season when scoring first and 0-2-1 when the opposition finds the back of the net first. The Rattlers are 66-3-4 all-time under Head Coach Johnny Clifford when taking the initial lead.
JT in Goal: Junior Johnny Thurbin ranks fifth in the nation in goalie minutes played (1170), eighth in goals against average (.615), 24th in save percentage (.805) and sixth in shutouts (6). In all four categories he also leads the Lone Star Conference.
What A Guy-ellgos: Sophomore forward Gael Gallegos scored the 13th goal of his career with the penalty kick against St. Edward's. He scored six goals as a freshman and has seven this season. Gallegos ranks third in the Lone Star with 0.54 goals per game, third with 1.31 points per game and sixth with 2.38 shots per game.
Nationally Ranked: For the first time this season (Oct. 15 poll) and the 32nd week in history, the Rattlers are nationally ranked by the United Soccer Coaches Association, coming in at #25. This is the seventh straight year the Rattlers have been ranked inside the top 25 for at least one week.
Defense to Offense: Junior Luke Mulkey became the fifth different defender to score a goal this season with his header against St. Edward's. Mulkey joins Gianluca Fiorini, Bradley Greene, Pau Mateu Deya, and Lewis Nohar with goals in 2024. Andrick Ferrer also has a pair of assists from the defensive line.
