Big moves for the Rattlers since they last kicked a soccer ball last season. St. Mary’s University switched all it’s sports programs from the Heartland Conference to the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference on an official announcement on July 1st.
The men’s soccer team is coming off it’s second consecutive 10 win season. In 2018, the Rattlers went 10-5-3 and made it to the first round of the Heartland Conference Tournament. One of the reasons that the Rattlers were so successful the past two seasons was because of Pato Botello. Recording 18 goals and 6 assists, Botello lead the team in goals and assists during the 2018 season. Botello is now enjoying a successful first season with USL One’s Lansing Ignite.
St. Mary’s has two Australian goalkeepers that were very good and both keepers saw action during 2018. Sophomore Jacob Sayle appeared in 6 matches with a 1.06 GAA and a save percentage of 75%. Junior Gerard Roebuck played in 23 matches and led with 44 saves and a 1.76 GAA.
Two players who could step up this season are Nenad Markovic and Ollie Wright. Markovic entering his Senior year is from Serbia, had 5 goals and 6 assists as a striker. Wright is a Junior from London and a midfielder recorded 3 goals and 4 assists.
The Rattlers are ranked fourth coming into their first year in the Lone Star Conference. Midwestern State is ranked first who went 16-1-3 in 2018 and the Mustangs made it as far as the NCAA Division II Second Round.
The 2019 Rattler regular season starts September 6th in San Antonio at Sigma Beta Chi Field versus Metro State. St. Mary’s will face Conference favorites Midwestern State twice this season; September 21st in San Antonio and October 26th in Wichita Falls. The Lone Star Conference Tournament starts November 12th.
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