This Week in Rattlers Soccer
Wednesday, Sept. 17 • St. Mary's (1-1-1) at UT Dallas (3-0-1) • 7 p.m.Â
Saturday, Sept. 20 • #5 DBU (4-0-0) at St. Mary's • 1 p.m.
Lone Star Action: St. Mary's begins Lone Star Conference play this week, traveling to the newest member of the league, UT Dallas, on Wednesday before hosting No. 5 DBU on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Last Time Out: Playing at home for the first time in 2025, St. Mary's put on a scoring clinic, defeating East Central 5-1 on Saturday afternoon for its first win of the season. The Rattlers wrap up the non-conference portion of the schedule with a 1-1-1 record. The five goals were scored by five different players, with both Shelby Paniagua and freshman Aryana Martinez scoring three points each.
Scouting UTD: The Comets are 3-0-1 in their first season of Division II play, and have scored at least one goal in all four contests. Chelsea Vilca leads the team with 11 points (5 goals, 1 assist), while Gabby Thompson is one point behind her with 10 (5 goals). McKenzie Hunninghake has been in goal all 360 minutes, allowing four goals with 11 saves (.733 save %).
History With the Comets: St. Mary's is a perfect 3-0 against UT Dallas and is 1-0 in Dallas, though the teams have not met since 1997 when the Rattlers were in the NAIA. The Rattlers have two former Comets on their 2025 roster in sophomores Lauren Hart and Layla Rangel. Rangel scored her first goal of her career in the 5-1 win over East Central. She collected three assists a season ago for UTD, while Hart played over 400 minutes with one shot.
Scouting DBU: The Patriots are 4-0 and ranked No. 5 in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll. Nine different players have at least one point this season, led by Anne Louthan with six (2 goals, 2 assists). DBU has used three keepers, with both Mikaela Gracia and Leslie Miller sporting a 2-0 record with three saves, though Gracia has started all four games.
History With the Patriots: DBU holds a 25-19-1 lead in the all-time series and have won 22 straight, dating back to 2010. The Patriots won 2-0 last season in San Antonio and this will be the seventh-straight meeting with DBU appearing in the top-25.
Offensive Explosion: At least once in all six seasons with Kevin Driggs as the head coach, the Rattlers have tallied at least one game during the year with five or more goals, as they defeated East Central 5-1 on Saturday afternoon. The most goals scored during the Driggs era was 12 against Texas Lutheran on March 14, 2021. Saturday was the seventh time an StMU team scored five or more.
Taking The Shot: Senior Shelby Paniagua and junior Elena Kossler rank second and third in the Lone Star Conference in shots per game. Paniagua is averaging 6.00 per game, which ranks fifth in the nation, while Kossler is averaging 4.67 for 19th in Division II. Cassandra Ramirez from UTPB currently leads the league with 7.5 shots per contest.
Picked Fifth: The Rattlers were voted fifth in the Lone Star Conference preseason poll. Should the prediction hold, the Rattlers will compete in their sixth-straight LSC Tournament. A season ago, StMU placed fifth with a 9-7-3 overall record.
Helping Hand/Foot: Senior Shelby Paniagua is sixth on the NCAA Division II active players list with 21 assists and assists per game (0.33). She moves past Amy Hocking (1997-99) into third in St. Mary's career history with those 201assists, and past Leia Kirch (2009-12) into 10th with her 20 goals.
Faucette In Goal: Senior goalkeeper Haley Faucette may be in her first season with the Rattlers, but she brings a wealth of Division II experience with her. Faucette currently ranks 25th among Division II keepers with a 1.11 goals against average for her career after playing three seasons at Wingate with 97 saves and a 13-6-5 record for the Bulldogs. She made the 100th save of her career in the season opener at Fort Lewis, saving four shots, and now has 108.
Closing In: Kevin Driggs is moving closer to his 50th win as a head coach, as he won his 47th against East Central. When he reaches the milestone, he will become only the third women's soccer coach at St. Mary's to do so and will tie Lance Noble (1996-99) for second on the all-time wins list.
What's Coming Back: The Rattlers return 19 of the 30 goals scored last season, along with 13 of the 18 assists, including a team-leading eight goals and six assists by senior Shelby Paniagua. The team also returns three defenders from last season's squad that allowed 1.42 goals per game, and senior Abigail Wilson, who was part of the 2023 team that surrendered only 1.27 goals a contest.
New Faces: The Rattlers have 20 newcomers to the 2025 team, including 15 freshmen, three sophomores, one junior and one senior transfer. The newcomers outnumber the returners 20-to-14 on the 34-player roster for sixth-year head coach Kevin Driggs.
