September 7, 2007
San Antonio – Jayson Horn made the most of his first start in goal as a Rattler, posting a shutout, while David Peterson led the offense with his second goal of the season, as St. Mary’s University defeated the University of Texas of the Permian Basin, 1-0, in Heartland Conference men’s soccer action Friday afternoon at St. Mary’s University Soccer Field.
Horn (Jr., San Antonio) was forced into the starting lineup when Brett Collier (So., Schertz) was injured in practice this week. But Horn, who transferred to St. Mary’s from UTPB, was up to the challenge, making seven saves and giving the Rattlers their first shutout of the season. Helping Horn in his work were defenders Luke Smith (Sr., Kerrville), Chris Vaughan (So., Cibolo), Kyle Farrell (So., Edmond, Okla.) and Zach Valdez (Sr., Plano).
The Rattlers looked to turn the game into a runaway early as David Peterson (Fr., Saginaw) picked up a loose ball in the penalty area off a direct free kick, turned and fired the ball past Sage Peterson of UTPB to give St. Mary’s the 1-0 lead just 2:59 into the contest. The Rattlers took the first five shots of the game and controlled play through most of the first half.
But in the second half the Falcons used a physical, aggressive style of play to get themselves back into the game. Both teams took nine shots in the second half after the Rattlers outshot the Falcons in the first half. But St. Mary’s hung on for their second win of the season. Three of the Rattlers four games this season have been decided by just one goal.
With the win the Rattlers improved to 2-2 overall and 1-0 in Heartland Conference play this season. UTPB fell to 2-2 and 0-1. St. Mary’s will return to action on Sunday when they play host to Newman University in a Heartland Conference matchup at 1 p.m. at St. Mary’s Soccer Field.