Men's Soccer Faces Important Week

This Week in Rattlers Soccer
Wednesday, Oct. 15 • St. Mary's (1-3-6, 0-2-1) at UT Tyler (3-6-2, 0-3-1) • 5 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 18 • Texas A&M International (2-4-5, 0-3-1) at St. Mary's • 5 p.m.

Split Week: St. Mary's Men's Soccer starts the week Wednesday evening at UT Tyler before returning to Sigma Beta Chi Field to host Texas A&M International on Saturday at 5 p.m. as a part of Youth Day. The Rattlers will sign autographs after the game on Saturday.

Last Week: St. Mary's dropped a 2-0 decision at St. Edward's on Saturday, evening the series Battle of the Saints at 1-1. 

Against UT Tyler: The Rattlers hold a 7-2-3 lead in the series that started in 2019 when the teams joined the Lone Star Conference. St. Mary's is unbeaten in the last seven games 4-0-3 in the series, dating back to Nov. 3, 2021, a 3-0 win for the Patriots.

Scouting the Patriots: UT Tyler has used two keepers in goal this season. Niclas Becker has started eight of the 11 games with 24 saves and 10 goals allowed, while Luke Ryan has started the other three with six saves and five goals surrendered. Luan Rangel leads the team with six points (3 goals) and nine others also have at least one point on the year. The Patriots are 3-6-2 overall and in search of their first conference win (0-3-1).

I Know You: Both Calum Murdoch and UTT's Hugo Debenham are both from Christchurch, New Zealand, and their prep schools are rivals on the pitch.

Against Texas A&M International: The Dustdevils hold a slight 18-16-4 lead in the all-time series that dates back to 2002, though the Rattlers are unbeaten in the last eight matches, including four straight wins. StMU is 10-6-2 in San Antonio and are 5-0-1 over the last six.

Scouting the Dustdevils: Texas A&M International has started three different men in goal, with Joannis Koupepides starting six, and Emmanuel Esquivel four.  The trio have made 39 saves (.650), while allowing 21 goals (1.91 GAA). Tiziano Klamler leads the team with nine points (2 goals, 5 assists), while both Chris Fuentes and Kai Louviere have collected three goals each. The Dustdevils are also looking for their first conference victory (0-3-1) and are 2-4-5 overall.

It's Been A While: It's been 281 minutes of game action since the Rattlers last scored, as senior Luke Mulkey headed in a goal in the 79th minute against Northwest Nazarene on Sept. 27. It is the first time with Johnny Clifford as the head coach that the Rattlers have gone three straight games without finding the back of the net. The 2016 team had three-straight scoreless contests, but bounced back to defeat DBU, 2-1, on Oct. 6.

Leading the Way: Senior goalkeeper Johnny Thurbin ranks second in the Lone Star Conference in goals against average (1.00), save percentage (.762) and shutouts (3). Thurbin is the defending Lone Star Goalkeeper of the Year and was named the Preseason Keeper by the league's coaches, SID's and media. 

Art Majors: St. Mary's is getting good at drawing, and has already tied the St. Mary's single season record for draws in a season with the 2022 and 2023 teams that went 12-2-6 and 8-5-6, respectively. 

Scoring Breakdown: St. Mary's has done its scoring either really early, or really late in games this season, with two goals in the first 15 minutes, three in the second grouping of 15 and two in the final 15 minutes of the match. On the flip side, four of the opponents 10 goals have been scored between the 61st and 75th minutes.

Minute    StMU    Opponent
1st-15th    2    1
16th-30th    3    3
31st-45th    -    1
46th-60th    -    -
61st-75th    -    4
76th-90th    2    1

Playing Clean: St. Mary's currently ranks second in the Lone Star Conference and 11th in the nation in fewest fouls per game, averaging 8.60 per game. Roberts Wesleyan leads Division II getting whistled for only 683 fouls a night, while UT Tyler leads the league with 8.27 per contest.

Fixture: Senior defender/midfielder Andrick Ferrer has played in 65 games throughout his career with the Rattlers, ranking 26th among DII active career players. Ferrer has six goals and 10 assists for 22 points in his career.

Towards the Top: Senior Johnny Thurbin ranks sixth among Division II active players in career save percentage (.788) and ranks 39th overall, regardless of division. Thurbin also ranks 7th in goals against average (0.884), sixth in solo shutouts (14), 24th in career minutes (3257.95), and 34th in saves (119) in the DII ranks. 

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.

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.

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.