San Antonio – Adam Villanueva scored on a penalty kick and freshman Stephen Gamez scored his first collegiate goal, helping St. Mary’s University to a 2-0 victory over Our Lady of the Lake in men’s soccer action Thursday afternoon at St. Mary’s University Soccer Field. In the first game of the day, the St. Mary’s women tied OLLU, 2-2, in two overtimes.

The men’s game was a physical affair from the start with a total of 33 fouls, including 16 in the first half, and four cautions issued. Neither team was able to break through in the first half, though the Rattlers controlled play, outshooting OLLU 8-1. Marco Herrera made three spectacular saves in the first half to preserve the tie.

But in the second half the Rattlers took control. Gamez (Fr., San Antonio) dribbled into the penalty area in the 58th minute of the game and was tripped, forcing a penalty kick. Villanueva (Sr., DeSoto) buried the kick in the back of the net for his first goal of the season to give the Rattlers a 1-0 lead. Gamez then sealed the win in the 86th minute. Villanueva sent a cross through the box, which was passed ahead to Gamez by Daniel Kelly (So., Tucson, Ariz.). Gamez the headed the pass on the fly into the net, giving the Rattlers a 2-0 lead.

Brett Collier (Sr., Schertz) recorded his second straight shutout, facing five shots. With the win, the Rattlers improved to 2-1 this season and have won two in a row. They will hit the road to open Heartland Conference play at Texas A&M International University on Monday at 7 p.m.

The women’s game went from a defensive struggle to a shootout. The two teams combined for just 11 shots and no goals in the first half. But it didn’t take long in the second half for things to change. Just 2:52 into the second period Amanda Bonds broke through the defense, got around goalkeeper Roxana Carrasco (So., El Paso) and put the ball into the open net for a 1-0 OLLU lead. Just 51 seconds later the Rattlers responded when Melinda Gentry (Jr., Plano) took a shot from 35 yards away, looping it from the far side of the field over the head of goalkeeper Kat Kirsch to tie the game at 1-1.

Annia Olivares (Fr., El Paso) gave the Rattlers the lead, picking up a loose ball in the penalty area and putting it in for a 2-1 lead. However, the Saints responded when Tabytha Horseman lofted a shot from 40 yards out that just went over the head of Carrasco, tying the game at 2-2. That was all the scoring that would occur as Carrasco made the play of the game in overtime, stopping a penalty kick opportunity by Horseman in the fourth minute.

With the tie, St. Mary’s is now 0-2-1, while OLLU is 2-0-1. The Rattlers will return to action on Saturday when they host Northwest Missouri State at 11 a.m. at St. Mary’s Soccer Field.

Our Lady of the Lake (2-0-1) vs. St. Mary’s (Texas) (0-2-1)
Date: Sep 03, 2009
Attendance: 375

Our Lady of the Lake (1-1) vs. St. Mary’s (Texas) (2-1)
Date: Sep 03, 2009
Attendance: 400
Weather: Clear and Hot

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