RICHARDSON, Texas — Playing minutes from where he grew up, St. Mary's University sixth-year senior
Cooper Stephens scored in the 65th minute on Wednesday evening, but it wasn't enough as the Men's Soccer team dropped a 3-1 decision to UT Dallas, which remains undefeated in league play.
Stephens brought the score to 2-1 when he took a pass from senior
Enzo Jaques (Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil), drove forward two steps and punched the ball from approximately 20 yards out into the top right corner of the net. However, the Comets (9-3-2, 5-0-1) were able to add a third goal late to put the game out of reach for the Rattlers (2-5-6, 1-4-1).
"This was another very disappointing night for us," said Head Coach
Johnny Clifford. "I thought we prepared well all week and really started the game very well, but once again, we made some huge individual errors and failed to capitalize on the multiple opportunities we created. Our guys are working so hard and trying everything we can right now."
The Rattlers doubled up the Comets in shots, 20-to-10, but UTD put six shots on frame, compared to only five for StMU. The Rattlers also had seven corner kicks and limited the Comets to two in the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
Jaques led the team with four shots, and he was one of five different Rattlers to record a shot on goal.
"We need to get back to our winning ways and concentrate on making the conference tournament, and do it quickly," Clifford stated. "I still believe we have enough quality to turn this around, but we are running out of time. We will focus on quickly turning this around for another big game this weekend."
St. Mary's will host Oklahoma Christian, which lost 3-2 to St. Edward's on Wednesday evening. Stay tuned to Rattlerathletics.com for details on the match, as storms are forecasted to hit San Antonio on Saturday.
