October 11, 2012
San Antonio – Things were going so well for St. Mary’s on Thursday that junior Amanda Cardoza managed to find the back of the net with her left foot.
She’s right-footed, mind you.
That was the kind of day the Lady Rattlers’ women’s soccer team enjoyed in their second-to-last home game, routing McMurry 5-0 at the Northside ISD Soccer Field.
Leah Snelson (Jr., Dallas) scored twice, while Kaitie Kasperitis (So., Corpus Christi, Texas), Cardoza (Jr., El Paso, Texas) and Ashleigh Wells (Jr., Dallas) all added one goal each.
Leia Kirch (Sr., Carrollton, Texas), the Rattlers’ leading goal scorer, had three assists to also take over the team lead in that category with five on the season.
The non-conference win over McMurry, a provisional member of the Heartland Conference, improved the Rattlers’ record to 7-6 on the season. St. Mary’s, 1-5 in conference play, will take on Texas-Permian Basin in a pivotal matchup at 12 p.m. Saturday in their final home game of the season. It also marks Senior Day for the Lady Rattlers, as seniors Annia Olivares (El Paso, Texas), Carolyn Martin (San Antonio), Emilie Snelson (Dallas) and Kirch will be honored at halftime.
Head coach Corwyn Ritch also will be honored in a pregame ceremony commemorating the 100th win of his career, which came in a 3-1 victory over Wayland Baptist on Sept. 1.
The Rattlers will look to play UTPB like they did McMurry, dominating time of possession and the overall quality of play. St. Mary’s outshot McMurry 24-3, scoring three first-half goals before striking twice more in the second half.
Paola Ostos (Jr., El Paso, Texas) picked up the shutout in the net, collecting two saves on the day while improving to 2-2 on the season.