This Week in Rattlers Soccer
Thursday, Sept. 25 • #25 St. Mary's (1-1-3) vs. #RV Western Oregon (4-1-1) • 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 27 • Northwest Nazarene (3-1-1) vs. #25 St. Mary's • 2:30 p.m.
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This Week: St. Mary's Men's Soccer plays a pair of neutral site games, facing Western Oregon (4-1-1) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and Northwest Nazarene (3-1-1) on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at the Toyota Soccer Center, adjacent to Toyota Stadium, home of FC Dallas.Â
Toyota Center: The tournament will take place at the Toyota Soccer Center on Fields 5 & 6. Parking will be available in the Corolla Red Lot at Technology Drive and World Cup Way. The field is a sand-based field. There is a concession area, the Victory Center, with shaded picnic tables. Toyota Stadium reserves the right to charge for parking at any time, but no fees are listed.
Last Week: St. Mary's dropped their first game of the 2025 season at Midwestern State, 1-0, before bouncing back to draw 1-1 with Rogers State on Friday afternoon. The Rattlers have scored once in three of their last four games, and have surrendered one goal in each of their last three.
Against Western Oregon: The Wolves are the fifth team this season to either be ranked or receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, as they are the first team out of the rankings this week. Western Oregon is 4-1-1 on the year and both WOU and StMU finished in a scoreless draw against Colorado State-Pueblo this season. This is the first-ever meeting between the two teams, though there is a connection as GK Andre Schlaefli played for the Wolves last season after playing at StMU from 2020-23. Alex Grignon leads the Wolves with eight points (3 goals, 2 assists), while Justin Stewart has started in goal in five of the team's six games with 15 saves and two goals allowed.
Against Northwest Nazarene: The Nighthawks are 3-1-1 on the season and all five opponents have been from the RMAC, including a 1-0 loss at Fort Lewis in their last match for the lone common opponent with StMU. St. Mary's and Northwest Nazarene have never met on the pitch, though the Nighthawks played at Sigma Beta Chi Field in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Rylan McPherson already has six goals to his credit in 2025 to lead the team in scoring, while Caleb Putney leads NNU with three assists. Gerardo Fonte has started in goal all five games, making 21 saves with 16 of the team's 17 goals allowed.
In Search Of: St. Mary's does not have a neutral pitch victory during the Johnny Clifford tenure. The Rattlers are 0-1-3 in games neither team calls home after the 1-1 draw against Rogers State on Friday. 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 are hanging on in the national rankings, though they dropped eight spots from No. 17 to No. 25 in the third week. This marks the eighth-straight year StMU has been in the top-25 at least one week during the regular season, and the 35th week overall.
Leading the Nation: Senior Johnny Thurbin leads all of Division II active players in career save percentage (.805) and ranks 11th overall, regardless of division. Thurbin also ranks 3rd in goals against average (0.801), fifth in solo shutouts (13), 25th in career minutes (2807.95), 32nd in saves per game (3.12), and 33rd in saves (103) in the DII ranks.Â
By the Numbers: St. Mary's has scored three goals this season, and all three have been scored in a 32-second span on the score clock. At UCCS, the Rattlers scored at the 23:45 mark, while the goal against Fort Lewis came at exactly 24:00 and the score in the draw against Rogers State happened at 24:17. All three goals have come from different players as Gael Gallegos, Ryan Guillaume and Enzo Jaques have found the back of the net.
Milestone Achieved: Senior goalkeeper Johnny Thurbin made the 100th save of his career with his first save against Rogers State and now has 103 in his career. Thurbin is the eighth keeper in St. Mary's history with 100 or more stops. Thurbin is currently eighth on the StMU career charts, needing one more to tie Mitchell Kilmer (2014-15) for seventh.
Making the Most: Senior transfer Pape Gueye sat out all of last season after transferring from Our Lady of the Lake, but played all 90 minutes in his first start in the Gold & Blue against Rogers State. Gueye entered Saturday with 99 minutes through the first four games, but never left the pitch in helping the Rattlers to a 1-1 draw.
Fixture: Senior defender/midfielder Andrick Ferrer has played in 62 games throughout his career with the Rattlers, ranking 17th among DII active career players. Ferrer has six goals and 10 assists for 22 points in his career.
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.
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.
