LUBBOCK, Texas — The St. Mary's University Men's Soccer team started the Lone Star Conference season the same way it ended the non-conference season, with a draw. The Rattlers and Lubbock Christian ended in a scoreless draw on Wednesday night at the LCU Soccer & Track Complex.
Senior goalkeeper
Johnny Thurbin (Lingfield, Surrey, England) was tested early, as with only 1:17 off the clock in the first half, the Rattlers (1-1-6) were whistled for a foul inches outside the penalty box. Manu Nunez took a shot on the free kick, and Thurbin used a two-handed punch to clear the shot away.
Thurbin ended the game with five saves, while LCU keeper Connor Pettigrew recorded six, four from senior
Enzo Jaques (Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil), who spent his first two years playing for the Chaparrals (1-5-2). With the clean sheet, Thurbin moves into sole possession of third place in St. Mary's history with 14 career shutouts, passing Ray Macias, who recorded 13 shutouts in his career that spanned from 1981 to 1984.
Each team took 14 shots in the game. The Rattlers had one more corner than the Chaps, 4-to-3, and LCU was called for one more foul, 10-to-9 in the closely contested match.
Six Rattlers played all 90 minutes in Thurbin,
Ricky Alvarez (Dripping Springs, Texas),
Pau Mateu Deya (Marratxi, Balearic Islands, Spain),
Luke Mulkey (Parker, Texas),
Shea Scally (Glasgow, Scotland) and
AJ Valdivia (Perris, Calif.).
"Unfortunately, it's another frustrating evening for us," said Head Coach
Johnny Clifford. "We did not play well enough tonight and we need to suffer the consequences of the result. We get back to work tomorrow as we prepare for a huge night back in front of all of our fans!"
The six draws for the Rattlers this season tie the school record for most in a year, knotting the 2022 and 2023 teams that were 12-2-6 and 8-5-6, respectively. StMU has now ended its last four matches in ties.
The Rattlers finally come home after playing five straight away from Sigma Beta Chi Field, to host Sul Ross State on Saturday at 5 p.m. The Lobos will open LSC play against the Rattlers, as they had the bye on Wednesday. The road to the field will close at 4:45 p.m. for the St. Mary's 5K, so plan on arriving early.
