This Week in Rattlers Soccer
Thursday, Sept. 4 • #9 Fort Lewis (1-0-0) at #17 St. Mary's (1-0-1) • 4 p.m.
Coming Home: St. Mary's Men's Soccer opens the home portion of the 2025 season at 4 p.m. Saturday against No. 9 Fort Lewis in a doubleheader with the women's team. The Skyhawks play at St. Edward's on Thursday night before facing the Rattlers.
Nationally-Ranked: The Rattlers entered the national rankings at No. 17 this week after going 1-0-1 during the first week of the season. This marks the eighth-straight year StMU has been in the top-25 at least one week during the regular season, and the 33rd week overall.
Last Week: St. Mary's and No. 3 Colorado State-Pueblo battled to a 0-0 draw on Thursday night before the Rattlers were able to get a 1-0 win at then-#17 UCCS on Saturday. Junior forward Gael Gallegos scored on a free kick in the 24th minute for the lone goal of the week.
Tough Defense: Both seniors Luke Mulkey and Johnny Thurbin were named Lone Star Conference Players of the Week after the results in Colorado. Mulkey helped lock down the two nationally-ranked squads, while Thurbin made seven saves in goal.
Series with Fort Lewis: St. Mary's is 2-5-2 all-time against Fort Lewis with a 0-1-0 record at Sigma Beta Chi Field. Last season, the Rattlers dropped a 1-0 decision in Durango. The Skyhawks are the third-straight RMAC foe StMU will face to start the 2025 season. FLC started the year with a 2-1 victory over Lubbock Christian.
Milestone Approaching: Senior goalkeeper Johnny Thurbin has now made 94 saves in his career, needing six more to become only the eighth keeper in St. Mary's history with 100 or more stops. Thurbin is currently ninth on the StMU career charts, passing Sean Stanko (1999-00), who recorded 93 in his career. Thurbin needs two more to pass Gerard Roebuck (2017-19) for 8th on the list.
Picked Second: After winning the regular season and advancing to the finals of the Lone Star Conference Tournament in 2024, the voters have predicted St. Mary's to finish second in the 2025 campaign. Midwestern State, the four-time defending tournament champions, is the top point-getter in the 11-team poll with 16 of the 33 first-place votes and 338 points. The Rattlers garnered 13 first-place nods and 331 points.
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.
Roster Notes: Fourteen newcomers merge with 16 returners to make up the 30-man roster for the Rattlers in 2025. There are nine countries represented on the roster with 18 from the United States, three from Scotland, two each from Mexico and New Zealand and one athlete from Brazil, England, Spain, Switzerland and Venezuela.
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.
