PORTALES, N.M. — The St. Mary's University Men's Soccer team posted its fifth clean sheet of the season and remains unbeaten in Lone Star Conference play with a 1-0 win at Eastern New Mexico on Saturday afternoon.
The Rattlers are now 6-2-2 on the year and 2-0-0 in league action to sit atop the standings with six points.
In the 60th minute, senior
Juan Jose Valdez Lopez (Asuncion, Paraguay) scored in only this third game back from injury, nailing a 30-yard shot for the second game-winner of his career and the first since 2022.
Junior
Johnny Thurbin (Lingfield, Surrey, England) made one save as the defense held the Greyhounds (2-3-3, 1-1-0) to only four shots on the day. On the flip side, the Rattlers had 16 total shots and 12 in the first half.
"I'm really happy with this win," said Head Coach
Johnny Clifford. "Portales is a very difficult place to play and you don't get three points there easily. We dominated possession in the first half, but Eastern New Mexico defended really well and was disciplined in its blocks. We slowed down in the second half but managed to get one and secure the win."
Both
Sofian Maghouz (London, England) and
Enzo Jaques (Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil) led the team with three shots each.
The Rattlers have a bye on Wednesday and will host St. Edward's on Saturday for the Battle of the Saints at 5 p.m. The two teams played a scoreless draw in non-conference play earlier in the season in Austin.
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