LIVE STATS | VIDEO | MATCH NOTES
LAREDO, Texas (October 6, 2017) – Fresh off a dramatic 2-1 victory over #15 St. Edward's on Thursday night, the Texas A&M International University men's soccer team will make the trip up Interstate Highway 57 to take on St. Mary's on Saturday, Oct. 7. Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m. at Sigma Beta Chi Field.
TAMIU (5-2-2. 4-2-1) enters the weekend on a two-match winning streak for the second time in 2017 after
Michael Iskander's free kick in the 89
th minute lifted the Dustdevils over SEU at Dustdevil Soccer Field on Thursday night. They will look to win three consecutive matches of the first time since 2014 when they take on the Rattlers of St. Mary's (6-4-1, 4-3-0) in San Antonio.
A link of live stats, video and tickets can be found at GoDustdevils.com under the men's soccer schedule page. Follow the Dustdevils on Instagram and Twitter for an in-depth look into the program and the latest scores and updates.
A LOOK AT THE ALL-TIME SERIES
Saturday's match will be the 26
th meeting between the two schools with TAMIU holding a 16-7-2 advantage. The Dustdevils have won three straight in the matchup and 10 of the last 13.
A LOOK AT THE RATTLERS
Matt Barnes (11-14-3) is in his second season at the helm of StMU men's soccer program after being named the head coach in 2016. He has led the Rattlers to six wins so far in 2017, one more than they had during his first season in San Antonio.
StMU enters the match with momentum after defeating Dallas Baptist on Thursday night leapfrogging the Patriots into third in the south division. If the tournament started today, the Rattlers would be the fifth-seed and face off against TAMIU in the quarterfinals.
The Rattlers have three players with five or more goals with Pato Botello Faz leading the way with eight. The junior also has a team-high four assists and 20 points while also putting 19 of his 29 shots on-target for a shot on goal percentage of .655. Tommy Fogarty-Cameron ranks second on the team in goals with six as half of those have been of the game-winning variety. Another name to look for is Nenad Markovic as the sophomore has registered two multi-goal matches in 2017, both coming against DBU.
Mauricio Albo has been the featured the goalkeeper for the Rattlers in 2017making 10 matches compiling 885 minutes. The San Antonio, Texas native has made 36 saves on 108 shots faced while allowing 18 goals for a goals against average of 1.83. Gerard Roebuck has appeared in two matches for StMU as freshman making four saves including a career-high three against SEU.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
TAMIU and StMU enter Saturday's match in second and third place respectively in the South Division with one point separating the two programs. The Dustdevils win over St. Edward's moved them within three points of the division-leading Hilltoppers while the Rattlers 4-0 victory over DBU moved them up to third with 12 points. A win for TAMIU would move them four points clear of StMU.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Alan Rivera's six goals are tied with StMU's Pato Botello Faz for the most goals scored during conference play. Rivera scored the equalizer for TAMIU on Thursday marking the first time the senior has scored in back-to-back in his career.
Rafael Montabes ranks third in conference play in assists with three behind the five of SEU's Dylan Armstrong. The sophomore is one of nine players to have three assists during seven matches this season.
The Dustdevils haven't won three consecutive road matches since October 2013.
ISKANDER STRIKES GOLD
Entering the 2017 season, senior
Michael Iskander had five career goals with none of those being of the game-winning variety. The Kirkcaldy, Scotland native has flipped the script during his final season at TAMIU with both of his goals being game-winners, none more important than his strike in the 89
th minute on Thursday. Just a week removed from mishitting a free kick in the final minute o a 2-1 loss to #4 Midwestern State , the midfielder struck gold with a beautiful free kick into the far post lifting the Dustdevils to their first victory over a ranked opponent at home.
HEARTLAND IN THE RANKINGS
Midwestern State moved up one sport in the United Soccer Association NCAA Division II Men's National poll released on Tuesday afternoon while St. Edward's dropped four spots to 14
th. MSU stayed at third in the Massey Ratings while the Hilltoppers dropped 11 spots to 19
th after a draw with Newman. West Texas A&M leapfrogged the Dustdevils moving up 29 spots to 55
th while TAMIU dropped eight spots to 62
nd.
UP NEXT
The Dustdevils will head on the road for the final time in 2017 with matches against Lubbock Christina on Thursday, Oct. 12, and UT Permian Basin on Saturday, Oct. 14.
