This Week in Rattlers Soccer
Wednesday, Oct. 9 • St. Edward's (2-5-2, 0-3-1) at St. Mary's (4-3-2, 2-1-1) • 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct 12 • St. Mary's at Midwestern State (6-1-2, 2-0-2) • 11 a.m.
Battle of the Saints: The St. Mary's Women's Soccer team looks to regroup after a tough week, hosting the annual Battle of the Saints on Wednesday before traveling to Midwestern State for an early Saturday kick.
All-Time with St. Edward's: St. Mary's trails in the all-time series with St. Edward's 23-40-6, though they hold a slight 15-13-2 edge at home. The Rattlers snapped an eight-match losing skid to the Hilltoppers last season in the quarterfinals of the Lone Star Conference Tournament, beating SEU 2-1. It was the first outright win for the Rattlers since 2010 as 22 of the 23 previous had been losses (one tie).
All-Time with Midwestern State: The series with the Mustangs is all knotted up at 7-7-2, though the Rattlers have won the last two and three of the last four between the clubs since joining the Lone Star Conference. In Wichita Falls, the Rattlers have a 2-3-2 mark, winning 4-3 in 2022 in the last meeting there.
It's Been A While: For the first time this season, the Rattlers have gone back-to-back games without scoring a goal. It is the first time since Sept. 21 & 24, 2022 the team has been held scoreless in consecutive outings - a span of 40 matches.
Pin-Point Accuracy: Sophomore forward Malia Dominguez ranks second in the Lone Star Conference and 13th in the nation in shot accuracy at 72.2 percent. The second-year player has accumulated 13 shots on goal in 18 shots this season, scoring a team-leading five goals. Dominguez also ranks third in the LSC in game-winning goals with two and seventh in points per game with 1.22.
It's An Honor: Sophomore Malia Dominguez was named the Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 1 after helping lift the Rattlers to a sweep in the first week of conference play. Dominguez had six points, scoring three goals in the two victories.
Make Everyday A Saturday: The Rattlers are 3-0-1 this season when playing on Saturday and just 1-3-1 on the three other days of the week in which they've played (Wednesday - Friday). Since Kevin Driggs took over the reins in 2020, the Rattlers are 19-6-8 on Saturdays, more than twice as many wins as any other day of the week.
Hayes Helps x Two: In the first game of her collegiate career, freshman midfielder Freya Hayes made quite an impression, collecting two assists in the win over Sul Ross State in 33 minutes of play. Hayes found Malia Dominguez streaking to the goal in the 52nd minute and then found fellow freshman Anabelle Rodriguez in the 88th minute for her second.Â
Leading the Nation: Shelby Paniagua is one of four players in the nation who is 3-for-3 in penalty kicks this season. Aino Martikainen from Franklin Pierce, Ashleigh Martin from Central Missouri, and Isabella Wysocki from Dominican are the other three. Paniagua also ranks 53rd in assists per game (0.44) and 59th in shots on goal per game (1.78).
A Variety of Weapons: St. Mary's has scored 18 goals this season and seven different players have at least one. Malia Dominguez leads the team with five, while Natalie Gonzalez and Shelby Paniagua each have four goals. Seven players have at least one assist on the year, led by Paniagua with four.
Record Watch: Rebecca Difronzo currently sits at 254 career saves, needing seven more to tie the St. Mary's career record of 261 held by Alyssa Taramona (2012-15). Difronzo is averaging 3.22 saves per game this season. Difronzo already holds the StMU records for shutouts (18) and minutes played (5,927).
