CANYON, Texas — A brace by St. Mary's University forward
Elena Kossler in the final 70 seconds gave the Women's Soccer team its second-straight victory in Lone Star Conference play, 3-1 at West Texas A&M on Thursday night.
With the win, St. Mary's is now 3-4-1 overall and 2-3 in league play, while the Lady Buffs fall to 4-3-1 overall and 1-3 in conference action. The match was played at Happy State Bank Stadium in front of 793 fans, breaking the school's single-match attendance record of 608 from 2022.
Kossler, a junior from Ötztal-Bahnhof, Austria, nailed a header with 70 ticks remaining off a perfectly placed corner kick by freshman
Marily Garza Contreras (Duncanville, Texas). With six seconds left, Kossler took the rebound off a left-footed shot by sophomore
Anabelle Rodriguez (San Antonio) that deflected off the keeper's outstretched arm, and she found the bottom right corner of the goal for the win.
She is the first player this season to score two goals in a match and is now tied for the team lead with three on the year, tying senior
Shelby Paniagua (Cibolo, Texas), who netted her third in the 55th minute for the 1-0 lead.
Paniagua took a shot that ricocheted off the keeper back to her, and she drilled the second attempt into the lower left corner of the goal with her right foot for a short-lived advantage. The Lady Buffs tied the score on a crazy shot from the near sideline that bounced off the far sidebar and into goal in the 64th minute by Lawrencia Yeboah.
Paniagua moves into sole possession of eighth place on the St. Mary's career goals list with the 22nd of her career, passing Rachel Gurinsky (2014-17) and Alexia Maldonado (2016-19), who each scored 21. She also moves into a tie for sixth in career points with 66, knotting Natalie Moore (2000-03).
The Rattlers were extremely efficient in their shots on Thursday, as they scored three goals on four shots on goal and six shots total (50%).
Senior goalkeeper
Haley Faucette (Burlington, N.C.) made four saves on the night, including one in the 85th minute to keep the score tied at 1-1.
St. Mary's returns home to host Oklahoma Christian on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Eagles lost 2-0 to Midwestern State on Wednesday evening.
