Austin, Texas – Through all the wins, records and awards, it has been easy to overlook something that was once unmistakable about the St. Mary’s University women’s soccer team. They’re young. Real young.

As many as nine freshmen have seen significant playing time in the Rattlers’ rotation, a surprising number given the amount of success St. Mary’s has had this fall.

But on Thursday, facing an unbeaten St. Edward’s University team in “Battle of the Saints,” you could say the Rattlers showed some of their inexperience.

The Hilltoppers topped the Rattlers 2-0, outshooting St. Mary’s 18-1 in the process to create some breathing room atop the Heartland Conference standings.

“We came out flat, intimidated from the get go,” said forward Carolina Hernandez (Sr., El Paso, Texas), whose Rattlers dropped to 6-6-1 overall and 3-2 in the conference.

“I think we all feel pretty defeated at this point. But once you go down, there’s nowhere else to go but up.”

St. Edward’s Crystal Trevino gave the Hilltoppers a 1-0 lead with a goal from about 20 yards out in the 21st minute, while Janae Averette sealed the victory with a 52nd-minute score.

Carolyn Martin (So., San Antonio) recorded St. Mary’s lone shot.

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