This Week in Rattlers Soccer
Wednesday, Sept. 17 • #17 St. Mary's (1-0-2) at Midwestern State (1-1-2) • 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 19 • #17 St. Mary's vs. #14 Rogers State (3-0-1) • 4 p.m. • at MSU
This Week: St. Mary's Men's Soccer continues to face tough competition to start the season, playing at Midwestern State on Wednesday, and remaining in Wichita Falls to play No. 11 Rogers State on Friday afternoon.
In Search Of: St. Mary's does not have a neutral pitch victory during the Johnny Clifford Tenure. The Rattlers are 0-1-2 in games neither team calls home. A season ago, StMU and Colorado Mesa tied 1-1 at Fort Lewis. In 2020, the Rattlers lost 2-0 to Midwestern State at West Texas in the LSC Tournament, and in 2019, StMU and Fort Lewis played a scoreless draw at UCCS.
Nationally-Ranked: The Rattlers remained in the national rankings at No. 17 this week after the 1-1 draw against Fort Lewis. This marks the eighth-straight year StMU has been in the top-25 at least one week during the regular season, and the 34th week overall.
Last Week: St. Mary's and No. 9 Fort Lewis battled to a 1-1 draw on Saturday evening. Freshman Ryan Guillaume scored in the 24th minute to give the Rattlers an early 1-0 lead, but the Skyhawks knotted the score in the second half.
Lucky Number 24: The Rattlers have scored two goals this season, and both have come in the 24th minute of the contest. Gael Gallegos nailed a free kick for a goal at then-#17 UCCS, while Ryan Guillaume scored from just outside the box against then-#9 Fort Lewis.
Series with Midwestern State: St. Mary's is 6-39 all-time against Midwestern State, and five of the six victories have been since 2019. The Rattlers are 2-22 in Wichita Falls, and fell 3-1 at Stang Park a season ago.
Series with Rogers State: The Rattlers are 2-3-1 all-time against Rogers State, and the two teams have not met since 2018 in the final year of the Heartland Conference. That match ended in a 1-1 draw and this will be the first time the clubs have met on a neutral pitch.
Milestone Approaching: Senior goalkeeper Johnny Thurbin has now made 96 saves in his career, needing four more to become only the eighth keeper in St. Mary's history with 100 or more stops. Thurbin is currently eighth on the StMU career charts, passing Gerard Roebuck (2017-19), who recorded 95 in his career. Next on the list is Mitchell Kilmer (2014-15) withÂ
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, while Thurbin made seven saves in goal.
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.
