Wolf Among Three Rattlers Honored by Heartland

Jack Wolf (pictured) was named the Heartland Men's Soccer Freshman of the Year. (Photo by Antonio Morano Photography)

SAN ANTONIO — Two of St. Mary’s seniors found honors in the Heartland Conference for their final year of work, while freshman Jack Wolf receiveed the highest in his first year of collegiate play.

The Heartland Conference has released their selectees for the All-Heartland Conference Teams for the 2012 season, with St. Mary’s earning three representations as Wolf (Richardson, Texas) made the All-Heartland Conference First Team as well as being named the Heartland Conference Freshman of the Year. Seniors Anthony Bustos (Helotes, Texas) and Aaron Stares (Swindon, England) each made the Second Team.

For Wolf, his Freshman of the Year honor marks the first time since 2009 a Rattler has received the award from the league, and he becomes only the second Rattler in three seasons to place on the All-Heartland Conference First Team. Starting nearly every game in his first season with the Rattlers, Wolf played in all 17 games, including making 15 starts, tying for the team’s leading goals scorer with four. Wolf’s four goals included one game-winner, and he also tallied one assist for a total of nine points, second-best on the team. The freshman forward led the Rattlers in shots with 36, including 17 shot on goal.

For Stares, his selection for the 2012 season is the second straight year the defender has been honored on the All-Heartland Conference Second Team. The aggressive defender still found looks at the net, scoring two goals on the season as well as recording one assist for five points. Stares recorded 22 shots in his 14 games played that included 13 starts.

Bustos’ representation on the Second Team is his first career honor from the conference. Bustos also tied as the Rattlers’ leading goals scorer, netting four goals on the season to total eight points. The forward had one of the highest shot-on-goal percentages on the team at .696 with 16 of his 23 shots being on target.

The Rattlers’ three selectees for conference honors is complemented by St. Mary’s having its best record since 2009, finishing the 2012 season at 5-11-1 and fourth in the conference’s rankings.

While honorees Stares and Bustos are leaving their careers at St. Mary’s, the Rattlers can look forward in their Freshman of the Year and First Team selectee, Wolf.

St. Mary’s University, as a Catholic Marianist University, fosters the formation of people in faith and educates leaders for the common good through community service, integrated liberal arts and professional education, and academic excellence. The University has six athletic national titles: men’s basketball (1989–NAIA), baseball (2001–NCAA Div. II), softball (1986–NAIA and 2002–NCAA Div. II) and an individual national champion in men’s golf (2006–NCAA Div. II) and a national academic championship in men’s golf (2009–NCAA Div. II). St. Mary’s also had more than 40 percent of its athletes named to conference, regional and/or national honor rolls this past year. St. Mary’s student–athletes graduation rate is 65 percent, higher than the NCAA Division II average of 55 percent. To learn more about St. Mary's, visit www.stmarytx.edu/athletics.

    

Coaching Staff

Head Coach Que Willis

Querande "Que" Willis enters the 2012 season as the longest-tenured coach in the history of the St. Mary's men's soccer program, racking up over 50 victories along the way.

In fact, Willis, in his 10th year with the school, needs just eight more victories to become the winningest coach in the program's history. He has guided the Rattlers to a 53-97-6 record over the past nine years.

Willis has helped 34 Rattlers earn all-conference honors since 2003, including five last season -- and 29 since 2006. In addition to the team's on-field successes, Joseph Diaz was honored in 2010 as an ESPN Academic All-District pick.

St. Mary's went 4-12-0 in 2011, upsetting rival on the Rattlers' makeshift home field, the Northside ISD Sports Complex. The Rattlers spent a season without a real home in 2011, and will again do so in 2012 as their home field at St. Mary's is undergoing renovations as part of the new outdoor sports complex.

St. Mary's went 4-13-0 in 2010, again upsetting rival St. Edward's on the road and nearly knocking off nationally ranked Midwestern State in a 2-1 defeat at home.

In 2007, the Rattlers posted their highest win total in six years, going 8-11 overall and finishing third in the Heartland Conference. St. Mary's started the season 4-2 and had a 7-2 record at home. Six Rattlers earned All-Heartland Conference honors that season.

During the 2004 and 2005 seasons, the team played in the Southwest Soccer Conference, one of the top leagues in the nation as it was made up of teams from both the Heartland Conference and Lone Star Conference.

Prior to taking the reins as the Rattlers head coach, Willis served as an assistant coach in the Rattler soccer program for two years. He assisted coaching both the men's and the women's teams.

During those two years, he helped the men's team to a 19-13-4 record, including a 12-5-3 mark in 2002, good for second place in the Heartland Conference standings. They advanced to the Heartland Tournament Championship game both seasons with Willis on the staff.

While assisting the women's soccer team, Willis helped the squad to a 20-13-1 record over two seasons. The Rattlers advanced to the Heartland Conference Tournament in 2002, then won the tournament in 2003, defeating Incarnate Word, 2-1.

As a four-year letterwinner for the Rattler soccer team from 1996-99, Willis earned two All-American awards and two Heart of Texas Conference Most Valuable Player awards. In his freshman season, Willis was named Heart of Texas Newcomer of the Year, paving the way for what would become one of the most dynamic careers in the program's history.

Willis came to San Antonio from Plano East High School in Plano, Texas. In addition to assisting Corwyn Ritch for the three years prior to becoming head coach, Willis has coached numerous club soccer teams in San Antonio and Dallas. He also currently coaches the Dallas Texans Football Club "Blues".

Willis is a 2001 graduate of St. Mary's with a bachelor of arts degree in computer science.

2012 St. Mary's Men's Soccer Roster