This Week in Rattlers Soccer
Wednesday, Oct. 1 • St. Mary's (1-1-5) at Lubbock Christian (1-5-1) • 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 4 • Sul Ross State (3-2-2) at St. Mary's • 5 p.m.
This Week: St. Mary's Men's Soccer begins Lone Star Conference play at Lubbock Christian on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the league opener for both teams. The Rattlers return home to host Sul Ross State on Saturday at 5 p.m.
Get Here Early: On Saturday, St. Mary's is also hosting a campus 5K run and Margaret Keefe Road, leading from 36th Street to the parking lot will be blocked off at 4:45 p.m., so please arrive early to ensure entrance to the parking lot and match.Â
Last Week: St. Mary's posted another pair of draws at the GNAC-LSC Midseason Challenge at the Toyota Soccer Center in Frisco last week. The Rattlers ended in a 2-2 tie against both Western Oregon and Northwest Nazarene. It is the first time this season the team has scored more than one goal in a contest, and senior defender Luke Mulkey scored two of the team's four goals, both on headers.
Against Lubbock Christian: The Rattlers and Chaparrals are tied at 6-6-2 in the all-time series, though St. Mary's is 2-0-1 in the last three matchups and 3-1-2 in the last six. This is the first match in Lubbock since 2022, a 2-1 win for the Rattlers that clinched the regular season title for the Gold and Blue. LCU forwards Pedro Lucas and Manu Nunez both rank in the top 10 in the conference in shots on goal with 10 and eight, respectively, in a team that ranks second in the Lone Star with 96 shots.
Against Sul Ross State: The Rattlers won the only meeting against Sul Ross State, 3-0 on Oct. 23, 2024. The first goal of the night was scored by current graduate assistant Bradley Greene on a header off a corner kick by Gael Gallegos. The Lobos have a former Rattler on the team in senior midfielder Lewis Coates. He played two seasons at StMU and is in his second season with the Lobos.Â
Playing Clean: St. Mary's currently leads the Lone Star Conference and ranks eighth in the nation in fewest fouls per game, averaging 8.29 per game. Missouri S&T leads the nation, getting whistled for only 6.43 fouls a contest.
Making the Most of Opportunities: Redshirt freshman Axel Villegas played 62 of his 66 career minutes last weekend in Frisco, recording the first assist of his career on a throw-in during the 87th minute against Western Oregon. Freshman Matt Espinoza also tallied an assist in the first game of his career, passing a header to Luke Mulkey for the goal in the 79th minute against Northwest Nazarene.
Flying the Coop: Graduate student Cooper Stephens, who is in his sixth season with the Rattlers, has played in 51 games throughout his career, starting in 28, but Saturday against Northwest Nazarene was the first time in those 51 games that he played the entire 90 minutes. On Thursday against WOU, Stephens tied his previous career-high with 81 minutes on the pitch.
Fixture: Senior defender/midfielder Andrick Ferrer has played in 62 games throughout his career with the Rattlers, ranking 23rd among DII active career players. Ferrer has six goals and 10 assists for 22 points in his career.
Lone Star Leaders: St. Mary's is one of three teams in the Lone Star Conference allowing 1.00 goals per game, to tie for the league lead, along with Lubbock Christian and West Texas A&M. Johnny Thurbin and LCU keeper Connor Pettigrew are tied for the conference lead in minutes played, spending all 630 minutes of the season in goal.
Towards the Top: Senior Johnny Thurbin ranks third among Division II active players in career save percentage (.788) and ranks 32nd overall, regardless of division. Thurbin also ranks 5th in goals against average (0.874), sixth in solo shutouts (13), 25th in career minutes (2987.95), 32nd in saves (108), and 40th in saves per game (3.09) in the DII ranks.Â
Milestone Achieved: Senior goalkeeper Johnny Thurbin made the 100th save of his career with his first save against Rogers State and now has 108 in his career. Thurbin is the eighth keeper in St. Mary's history with 100 or more stops. Thurbin is currently seventh on the StMU career charts, needing 12 more to tie Jack Moore (2015-16) for sixth.
Tough Defense: Both seniors Luke Mulkey and Johnny Thurbin were named Lone Star Conference Players of the Week after the first week of the season. Mulkey helped lock down the two nationally-ranked squads in Colorado State-Pueblo and UCCS, while Thurbin made seven saves in goal.
Picked Second: After winning the regular season and advancing to the finals of the Lone Star Conference Tournament in 2024, the voters have predicted St. Mary's to finish second in the 2025 campaign. Midwestern State, the four-time defending tournament champions, is the top point-getter in the 11-team poll with 16 of the 33 first-place votes and 338 points. The Rattlers garnered 13 first-place nods and 331 points.
Preseason Players of the Year: St. Mary's seniors Luke Mulkey and Johnny Thurbin were named the LSC Preseason Defender and Goalkeeper of the Year, respectively. The pair earned the identical postseason awards at the conclusion of 2024. Both played every minute of every contest a season ago, holding opponents to 0.79 goals per game.
Roster Notes: Fourteen newcomers merge with 16 returners to make up the 30-man roster for the Rattlers in 2025. There are nine countries represented on the roster with 18 from the United States, three from Scotland, two each from Mexico and New Zealand and one athlete from Brazil, England, Spain, Switzerland and Venezuela.
Returning All-Conference: The Rattlers return seven student-athletes who were named to the Lone Star All-Conference teams in 2024. Defender Luke Mulkey and Johnny Thurbin were named to the First Team, as well as Defensive and Goalkeeper of the Year, respectively. Seniors Andrick Ferrer and Pau Mateu Deya and junior Gael Gallegos were honored on the Second Team and senior Cooper Stephens was tabbed to the Third Team.
