SAN ANTONIO — Junior
Shelby Paniagua didn't let the 75-minute delay slow her down, as she scored a hat-trick in the first half to lift the St. Mary's University Women's Soccer team to a 3-2 victory over Oklahoma Christian on Friday evening.
The game, originally scheduled for a 6 p.m. kickoff, didn't begin until 7:15 due to the officials being delayed.
In the 18th minute, Paniagua (Cibolo, Texas) took a pass from senior
Eliza Cerda (Wolfforth, Texas) right above the penalty box circle and blasted the shot into the left side of the net for the 1-0 advantage. Less than two minutes later, sophomore
Malia Dominguez (Helotes, Texas) was fouled inside the box, setting up a penalty kick for Paniagua. She once again drilled the ball into the left side to double the team's lead.
In the 35th minute, Paniagua grabbed a rebound off an
Alexis Truitt (Boerne, Texas) shot that was blocked and lasered it to the back of the goal for a 3-0 lead. Paniagua is the first player to record a hat trick since
Juni Ejere did so against Felician on Sept. 2, 2022, and the first since March 14, 2021, to have a hat trick in a single half, as Alexis Lawrence did so in a 12-0 rout over Texas Lutheran.
The win moves the Rattlers to 8-5-3 overall and 6-3-2 in Lone Star Conference play, while the Eagles fall to 9-4-4 overall and 5-4-3 in league action. The Rattlers jump into a tie for third place with the win, extending their winning streak to three straight.
The Eagles managed to score a pair of goals late, scoring in the 67th and 90th minutes to bring the score to 3-2.
Both teams took nine shots in the game, with senior
Melida Garza (New Braunfels, Texas) making three saves in the second half.
St. Mary's hosts DBU on Monday night at 5:30 p.m. for Alumni Night and closes out the regular season at UT Permian Basin on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 6 p.m. The Patriots defeated Midwestern State 5-0 in Dallas on Friday evening.
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