Women's Soccer Faces Mustangs in LSC Quarterfinals

This Week in Rattlers Soccer
Lone Star Conference Tournament Quarterfinals
Tuesday, Nov. 12 • 5th-Seed St. Mary's (9-6-3, 7-4-2) at 4th-Seed Midwestern State (10-3-5, 6-2-5) • 7 p.m.

Postseason Bound: For the fifth-straight season the St. Mary's Women's Soccer team has qualified for the Lone Star Conference Tournament. The Rattlers are seeded fifth and will take on fourth-seeded Midwestern State in the quarterfinals in Wichita Falls on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The winner will advance to the semifinals against top-seeded Angelo State on Friday at 5 p.m.

How They Got Here: St. Mary's split the final week of the regular season, dropping a 2-0 decision to No. 11 DBU before bouncing back for a 1-0 win at UT Permian Basin on Thursday. The Rattlers wrapped up Lone Star Conference play with a 7-4-2 record, tying Midwestern State for fourth place in the standings. The Mustangs won the tiebreaker via goal differential.

All-Time with Midwestern State: The series is all tied up at 7-7-3 with Midwestern State, and the Rattlers are 2-3-3 in Wichita Falls after the teams played to a 1-1 draw back on Oct. 12. Since joining the LSC, StMU is 1-0-1 at Midwestern State. The two teams have never met in the postseason.

The First Meeting: A pair of free kicks led to the two goals as StMU and MSU played to a 1-1 draw. The Rattlers struck first, scoring in the 61st minute. Junior Shelby Paniagua found senior Alexis Truitt at the edge of the box and she headed the ball into the left corner for the 1-0 lead. In the 79th minute, the Mustangs knotted the score on a free kick by Nyxalee Munoz, which found Lillia Besedin for a header. Rebecca Difronzo made five saves in the game, matching Mustangs keeper Allison Dellis. 

Lone Star Conference Tournament History: The Rattlers will be playing in their fifth Lone Star Tournament in as many years. Head Coach Kevin Driggs has led the Rattlers to the conference tournament every year he's been at the helm. The Rattlers are 3-4 all-time in the tournament, reaching the quarterfinals in 2020 and 2021, the semifinals in 2022 and the championship finals in 2023. Complete tournament records can be found on page two. 

Oh, Happy Day: The quarterfinals mark the second time this season the Rattlers will play on a Tuesday, and StMU is 1-0 on the second day of the week in 2024. St. Mary's won 3-0 at Texas A&M International on a Tuesday night, and the Rattlers are 3-2 on Tuesday's in Coach Driggs' tenure.

What A Kick: Junior defender Valerie Hover became the first player who isn't named Shelby Paniagua to attempt a penalty kick for the Rattlers in two seasons, nailing one in the 67th minute in the regular season finale at UT Permian Basin. It is Hover's first goal of the season and third of her career.

First Half Hat Trick: Shelby Paniagua became 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. Paniagua scored 18th, 20th and 35th minutes in the team's 3-2 win over Oklahoma Christian on November 1.

Now Appearing: With her third goal against Oklahoma Christian, junior Shelby Paniagua recorded the 19th of her career, moving her into a tie for 10th in St. Mary's history with Leia Kirch (2009-12). She also climbed into a tie for third all-time in assists with one at Texas A&M International and is knotted with Amy Hocking (1997-99) with 20. The 58 combined points places Paniagua in a tie with former teammate Juni Ejere (2021-23) for seventh all-time and she is just six shots away from tying the career record of 157 held by both Angela Molock (2001-02) and Kyle Hyslop (2003-06).

A Score Equals No Loss: The Rattlers are unbeaten this season when they score, posting a 9-0-2 record when finding the back of the net and 0-6-1 when failing to put a goal on the scoreboard. 

Standing Alone: Junior Shelby Paniagua scored her fifth penalty kick of the season on Friday against Oklahoma Christian and is the only player in Division II who is 5-for-5 in 2024. Vanessa Aviles from Columbus State and Ashleigh Martin from Central Missouri are 4-for-4 and 10 other players are 3-for-3 on the year, including Lexi Beck from Midwestern State.

Adding On: Senior goalkeeper Rebecca Difronzo continues to add on to her career saves record. Difronzo recorded 13 saves in the final week of the regular season, bringing her career total to 288. She broke the all-time record at Midwestern State on Oct. 12, bettering Alyssa Taramona's (2012-15) mark of 261. Difronzo also holds the school records for shutouts (20) and minutes played (6549).

A Variety of Weapons: St. Mary's has scored 29 goals this season and 10 different players have at least one. Shelby Paniagua each have eight goals, while Malia Dominguez and Alexis Truitt have scored five. Nine players have at least one assist on the year, led by Paniagua with six.

Closing In: Kevin Driggs is moving closer to his 50th win as a head coach, as he won his 46th in the regular season finale at UT Permian Basin. When he reaches the milestone, he will become only the third women's soccer coach at St. Mary's to do so and will tie Lance Noble (1996-99) for second on the all-time wins list.