Women's Soccer to Face Two in Colorado

This Week in Rattlers Soccer
Thursday, Sept. 12 • St. Mary's (1-1-0) at UCCS (0-1-1) • 8:30 p.m. (CT)/7:30 p.m. (MT)
Saturday, Sept. 14 • St. Mary's at Regis (0-2) • 12 p.m. (CT)/11 a.m. (MT)
 
Lone Non-Conference Trip: The St. Mary's Women's Soccer team hits the road for the only time in the non-conference portion of the season, playing at UCCS on Thursday in a rematch of the 2023 NCAA Tournament First Round, and at Regis on Saturday morning.
 
Program Milestone: The improbable 4-3 come-from-behind victory over Westminster marked the 300th victory in the history of St. Mary's Women's Soccer. The program began in 1991 and is now 300-259. It also gave the Rattlers their 48th win at Sigma Beta Chi field, needing two more to hit 50 wins on the field that opened in 2013.
 
Opponent History: St. Mary's is 0-1-1 against UCCS and both meetings came last season. The Rattlers and Mountain Lions recorded a 1-1 draw during the sixth match of the year on Sept. 17 and on Nov. 16, UCCS won 2-1 in the NCAA Tournament First Round at DBU. Alexis Truitt scored in the regular season, while Natalie Gonzalez scored the goal in the postseason. Shelby Paniagua had an assist on both, while Valerie Hover had one in November. The Rattlers are also 0-1-1 all-time against Regis, though the teams have not met since 2006, a 2-2 double overtime draw.
 
A Rarity: Saturday's 4-3 comeback win against Westminster was only the third in the Kevin Driggs era where a team won after trailing at halftime. The Rattlers are 3-12-1 since the beginning of the 2020 season when entering the lockerroom trailing at the break.
 
Making A Jump: Junior midfielder Shelby Paniagua moved up two places into seventh on the St. Mary's career assists list with two in the win over Westminster. She now has 16 assists in her career, needing two more to tie for fifth all-time with Kyle Hyslop (2003-06) and Kelly Shaughnessy (1997-99). She is currently tied for the lead in the Lone Star Conference and ranks fourth nationally with the two assists on the season.
 
Picked Second: St. Mary's was selected to finish in second place in the annual LSC Preseason poll, trailing favorite DBU, which was picked to win a fifth-straight title. The Rattlers totaled 519 points, behind the 587 for the Patriots. 
 
By the Numbers: Shelby Paniagua put up fantastic numbers last season en route to earning Second Team All-American honors. The then-sophomore tied for third in StMU history with 12 assists, finished fifth with 30 points and tied for third all-time with four game-winning goals. Paniagua is the first All-American in the NCAA period, and the first since Rachel Major was a third-team pick in 1998 when the Rattlers were part of the NAIA.
 
Returning to the Pitch: The Rattlers return seven starters and 16 players off last season's team that finished 11-6-5 and played for the Lone Star Conference Tournament title. Those 16 players accounted for 33 of the team's 42 goals (78.6%), 21 of the 33 assists (63.6%) and all 79 of the team's saves. Rebecca Difronzo (GK), Valerie Hover (D), Shelby Paniagua (MF) and Abigail Wilson (D) are the four returners that started all 22 games in 2023.