Men's Soccer Looks to Get Back Into Win Column

This Week in Rattlers Soccer
Wednesday, Oct. 22 • St. Mary's (2-4-6, 1-3-1) at UT Dallas (8-3-2, 4-0-1) • 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 25 • Oklahoma Christian (5-6-1, 2-4-0) at St. Mary's • 5 p.m.
 

Split Week: For the second-straight week, the St. Mary's Men's Soccer team will play Wednesday on the road and Saturday at home, squaring off with LSC Newcomer at UT Dallas before hosting Oklahoma Christian as part of a triple header on campus on Saturday.

Last Week: St. Mary's split a pair of 1-0 decisions, winning at UT Tyler on Wednesday before falling on Saturday to Texas A&M International. Senior defender Pau Mateu Deya scored the winning goal against the Patriots, taking a rebound off his own header and kicking it back into the goal 30 seconds before halftime.

Against UT Dallas: Wednesday will be the first-ever meeting between St. Mary's and UT Dallas in men's soccer.

Scouting the Comets: UT Dallas currently leads the Lone Star standings with a 4-0-1 record in conference play. Avery Brazzell leads the team with eight points (3 goals, 2 assists), while 10 others have scored at least one goal this season, as the Comets average 1.46 goals per contest. Three keepers have been in goal this year, with Ryder Claborn starting nine of 13. The trio has made 37 saves, while allowing only 13 goals (1.00 GAA, .740 save pct). Claborn was named the Goalkeeper of the Week in the LSC, while Josh Zemanski was the Defender of the Week after UTD beat both Lubbock Christian and Midwestern State.

I Know You: UTD features a pair of former Rattlers on their roster in juniors Josh Zemanski and Avery Estell. The Comets have a host of LSC transfers with Ryder Claborn from Midwestern State, Avery Brazzell, Evan Pustejovsky and Luke Harris from DBU, and Caden Naizer from UT Tyler.

Against Oklahoma Christian: The Rattlers own an 11-5-2 lead in the all-time series that dates back to 1992, though the Eagles upset the Rattlers at Sigma Beta Chi Field in both 2022 and 2023 in the LSC Tournament. StMU is 5-3 at home against OC and this will be the fourth time in the last five meetings that will take place in San Antonio.

Scouting the Eagles: Oklahoma Christian is one spot ahead of the Rattlers in the LSC standings with a 2-4 conference mark. Ethan Nakolo is the leading scorer in the league, averaging 1.167 goals per game and has 30 points (14 goals, 2 assists). Nick Hardiman is the usual suspect in goal, starting 10 of the 12 games.  He and Carter Higgins have combined for 37 saves and 17 goals allowed (1.42 GAA, .685 save pct).

Efficient: Senior defender Pau Mateu Deya has scored two goals in his career at St. Mary's, and both are game winners for the Rattlers. His latest was a rebound off his own header, that he blasted in with 30 seconds remaining in the half on Wednesday at UT Tyler for the 1-0 victory.

Defense to Offense: Three of the Rattlers' eight goals this season have been scored by defenders, with Luke Mulkey scoring two and Pau Mateu Deya adding one. Four of the six assists also come from defenders in Mulkey, Andrick Ferrer, Axel Villegas, and Matt Espinoza.

Leading the Way: Senior goalkeeper Johnny Thurbin leads the Lone Star Conference in goals against average (0.917), and is second in save percentage (.771) and shutouts (4). 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, five of the opponents 11 goals have been scored between the 61st and 75th minutes.

Minute    StMU    Opponent
1st-15th    2    1
16th-30th    3    3
31st-45th    1    1
46th-60th    -    -
61st-75th    -    5
76th-90th    2    1

Playing Clean: St. Mary's currently leads the Lone Star Conference and ranks fifth in the nation in fewest fouls per game, averaging 8.00 per game. Roberts Wesleyan leads Division II getting whistled for only 7.07 fouls a night.

Fixture: Senior defender/midfielder Andrick Ferrer has played in 67 games throughout his career with the Rattlers, ranking 24th 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 (.790) and ranks 39th overall, regardless of division. Thurbin also ranks 7th in goals against average (0.864), fourth in solo shutouts (15), 23rd in career minutes (3437.95), and 36th in saves (124) 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.