AUSTIN, Texas — The St. Mary's University Men's Soccer team got off 20 shots, with seven on goal, but were unable to find the back of the net in a 2-0 loss in the Battle of the Saints at Lewis-Chen Family Field on Saturday evening.
The annual competition between the two schools is now tied at 1-1 after the Rattlers' Women's Soccer won earlier this season.
"We dropped another tough one today," said Head Coach
Johnny Clifford. "I can't fault the effort of our guys; they threw everything at them and worked very hard, but we are really lacking in the final third. We are consistently creating chances, but football is about scoring goals, and we need to hold our hands up and admit that we need to improve in that aspect."
The Hilltoppers (4-4-3, 2-1-1) Arthur Souza took a pass from Flip Adamski in the 29th minute and scored past senior goalkeeper
Johnny Thurbin (Lingfield, Surrey, England). SEU added a late goal in the 87th minute by Matthew Devaney for the 2-0 final.
Thurbin made five saves in the game, all in the second half, and the Rattlers' offense outshot the 'Toppers 20-to-15 in the rivalry contest.
It is the first time since 2021 that the Rattlers have lost back-to-back contests in the regular season.
Junior forward
Gael Gallegos (Laredo, Texas) took five shots, with two being on goal to lead the Rattlers.
"We will take the weekend to recover, and look to bounce back on Wednesday," Clifford stated.
On Wednesday, the Rattlers travel to UT Tyler for a 7 p.m. kickoff against the Patriots. UT Tyler and Lubbock Christian posted a 2-2 draw on Saturday afternoon.
