This Week in Rattlers Soccer
Monday, Nov. 4 • #11 DBU (11-1-3, 8-1-2) at St. Mary's (8-5-3, 6-3-2) • 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 7 • St. Mary's at UT Permian Basin (4-8-3, 2-7-2) • 6 p.m.
Final Week: The final two games of the regular season begin on Monday when the Rattlers host #11 DBU for the final home contest. The club then wraps up Lone Star Conference play at UT Permian Basin on Thursday at 6 p.m.
All-Time with DBU: The Patriots hold a 25-18-1 lead in the all-time series that started in 1996. The Rattlers are looking to snap the longest losing streak in school history, as they've lost 21 straight to DBU. This is the sixth-straight meeting between the teams where the Patriots are nationally-ranked, coming in at No. 11. The Rattlers are 9-10 all-time at home in the series.
All-Time with UT Permian Basin: St. Mary's is 22-4 all-time against the Falcons, dating back to 2001 when the series began. The Rattlers are 11-2 in Odessa and have won the last five meetings and 13 of the last 14.
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 Friday.
Heating Up: After dropping back-to-back games for the first time all year, the Rattlers have responded by winning their last three and climbing into a tie for fourth-place in the Lone Star Conference standings. The three-match winning streak is the longest of the season.
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 earlier in the week 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 seven 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 8-0-2 record when finding the back of the net and 0-5-1 when failing to put a goal on the scoreboard.Â
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 is 4-for-4 and eight other players are 3-for-3 on the year.
Adding On: Senior goalkeeper Rebecca Difronzo continues to add on to her career saves record. Difronzo recorded five saves at Eastern New Mexico, bringing her career total to 275. 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 (19) and minutes played (6369).
A Variety of Weapons: St. Mary's has scored 28 goals this season and nine 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.
