COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Two games, two shutouts for the St. Mary's University Men's Soccer team. The Rattlers defeated No. 17 UCCS on Saturday evening at Mountain Lion Stadium to move to 1-0-1 on the young season.
Junior forward
Gael Gallegos (Laredo, Texas) scored the team's lone goal, finding the back of the net in the 24th minute on a free kick. Gallegos ended the night with three shots, two on goal, to lead all players. It is the first goal of the season for Gallegos, and the 15th of his career.
Senior goalkeeper
Johnny Thurbin (Lingfield, Surrey, England) recorded his second-straight clean sheet, making three saves. He moves into a tie for third all-time at St. Mary's with 13 shutouts, knotting Ray Macias (1981-84). Thurbin also climbed one spot into sole possession of third place in career wins with 18, passing Brett Collier (2006-09).
"This was a great win tonight," said Head Coach
Johnny Clifford. "It was a very gritty display and the boys dug in hard and worked together as a team. Gael's free kick was special and was a deserved game winner."
The Mountain Lions (1-1-0) took 11 shots, one fewer than the Rattlers, but only three of their 11 were on goal. StMU recorded seven corner kicks, five of which came after halftime, while four of UCCS's five were in the first half.
Thurbin,
Luke Mulkey (Parker, Texas),
Ricky Alvarez (Dripping Springs, Texas),
Pau Mateu Deya (Marratxi, Balearic Islands, Spain), and
AJ Valdivia (Perris, Calif.) played all 90 minutes for the Gold and Blue.
The Rattlers open the home portion of their schedule on Saturday, Sept. 13 against No. 6 Fort Lewis. The Skyhawks defeated Lubbock Christian 2-1 on Thursday and will play at St. Edward's before facing StMU at Sigma Beta Chi Field.
