PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico women's soccer battled St. Mary's University in a tightly contested matchup Saturday afternoon, ultimately falling 1-0 at Steve Loy Family Foundation Stadium. ENMU celebrated their lone senior
Vyaney Sanchez prior to kickoff. With the loss, the Greyhounds move to 2-12-2 overall and 1-11-1 in conference play, while the Rattlers improve to 7-7-3 overall and 5-6-2 in LSC action.
St. Mary's struck early in the contest, with Helen Lazaro finding the back of the net in the eighth minute to give the visitors a 1-0 advantage. Despite the early deficit, Eastern New Mexico's defense held strong throughout the remainder of the opening half, limiting the Rattlers to just two shots. The Greyhounds generated two corner kicks in the first 45 minutes, while
Raylene Carillo recorded ENMU's lone first-half shot in the 41st minute.
Eastern New Mexico came out of halftime looking to find the equalizer, with Carillo putting an attempt on target just over three minutes into the second period. St. Mary's goalkeeper Callie Gilliam turned away the opportunity to preserve the one-goal lead.
The momentum shifted in the 57th minute when St. Mary's Ashlee Rosales received a red card, forcing the Rattlers to play with 10 players for the remainder of the contest. The Greyhounds looked to capitalize on the advantage, with
Aaliyah Campbell sending an attempt wide shortly afterward.
Keira Gamboa added two scoring opportunities in the 73rd and 75th minutes, but ENMU was unable to break through the Rattlers' defense.
Despite being shorthanded, St. Mary's continued to create offensive opportunities, recording eight shots in the second half. Greyhound goalkeeper
Kiley Patalan made two saves after halftime to keep Eastern New Mexico within striking distance, but the Rattlers held on to secure the 1-0 victory.
The Greyhounds will host Texas A&M International on Tuesday, October 27
th for their final match of the season at home. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
