San Antonio – They were one man down and one goal away from their first victory on the season.

The Rattlers (0-4-1, 0-2 in conference) and Newman University (1-5, 1-1 in conference) met on similar grounds Saturday, as both were due for their first victory of the year. A late Rattler goal from Fernando Arias-Williamson (So., Houston) flirted with overtime, but the Jets capitalized in the final minutes to win the contest 2-1, all while St. Mary’s was down a man on the field.

The Jets gained their first of two goals 20 minutes into the game with a well-placed header from Brandon Carlos that snapped the top-left corner of the net, producing a lead that would go unchallenged until the 80-minute mark.

As both teams ached for their first victory and were matched with total goals on the season at two, the game was choppy and fierce, with freshman Jack Wolf (Richardson, Texas) going down early in injury. Several bodies flopped in pain throughout the second half and refs tried to maintain the competitiveness, but they weren’t able to sustain the fight in Garrett Larrington (Fr., Houston), who was issued a yellow card in the 70th minute. They flashed a red card less than 10 seconds later, ejecting him from the game.

Time was fading and despite missing a man on the field, the Rattlers were able to answer back to the Jets’ early goal with a goal from defender Arias-Williamson, his first on the season, which was assisted by freshman Alexis Santamaria (Fr., San Antonio).

Just two minutes before they would have entered extra playing, however, the Jets silenced the Rattlers’ comeback with another goal to end the game 2-1.

St. Mary’s totaled eight shots Saturday with five on goal. Zach Strater and Omar Sanchez each came away with two shots on goal, and Arias-Williamson’s goal claimed the last shot on goal.

The Rattlers will continue to seek their first victory on the road against McMurry University at 4 p.m. Thursday in Abilene, Texas.

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