SAN ANTONIO – The West Texas A&M women's soccer team ended the 2023 season with a 3-0 loss at the hands of the St. Mary's Rattlers. The Lady Buffs end the year with a 1-10-6 overall record and 0-8-4 mark in Lone Star Conference play.
 
Looking to set the tone early, St. Mary's formulated its attack in the opening minutes. The Rattlers registered three shots, but WT held strong to keep the attempts from finding the goal. Reagan Heelan's first save of the night came on a tough shot from Sydney Varela. After Varela gained possession in the box, the Rattlers' forward fired a shot to Heelan who punched it clear of the crowded area. St. Mary's continued to pepper shots at the Lady Buff goal but couldn't break through until the 25^th minute. As Clara Genitoni approached the box, Genitioni rifled a shot from 25 yards out into the top corner of the goal for the lead. It wasn't until the 31^st minute when WT recorded its first shot off the foot of Reagan Matacale, but Rebecca Difronzo made the save. After 45 minutes of play, the Rattlers held a 12-2 advantage in shots and 1-0 lead on the score board.
 
After halftime, it didn't take long for St. Mary's to net its second goal of the match. After a foul by WT, the Rattlers advanced the ball on the free kick. Trying for her second goal, Varela took her chances from deep where Heelan made a diving save. Unfortunately, the deflection went right to Natalie Gonzalez who buried the rebound. St. Mary's continued to occupy space in the WT zone as the Lady Buffs couldn't muster an offense in the match. The Rattlers wore down the WT defense once again in the 66^th minute when Maggie Wirebaugh sent a pass across the face of the goal for Gonzalez. Gonzalez then timed her jump perfectly and used her chest to finish the goal. The Lady Buffs' best scoring chance of the night came with less than 10 minutes to play as Alexsis Villarreal took a free kick from 30 yards out. Villarreal's shot looked to be heading into the net, but Difronzo made a leaping save to stop WT. With three minutes left, St. Mary's added another goal to go up 4-0. The Lady Buffs made one final push where Avery Putnam raced past the Rattlers' back line. As Difronzo charged to cut Putnam off, the freshman jumped over the goalkeeper, gaining enough space to float the ball into the goal. After the goal, the final minute and a half ran off the clock to end the game.