Canyon, Texas – The West Texas A&M men's soccer team earned a Lone Star Conference point on the road against No. 13-ranked St. Mary's with a 1-1 draw. The Buffs move to 5-6-5 overall and 3-2-4 in conference play.
 
After an early shot from Philip Leano, the Rattlers answered with a shot of their own although neither attempt went on frame. WT registered its first shot on goal, testing St. Mary's goalkeeper Johnny Thurbin in the eighth minute. Shortly after, Luke Southerington came up with his first save of the evening. The Buffs continued to apply pressure on the Rattler's stingy back line, but St. Mary's held WT off the board. Midway through the first half, Daniel Burton stepped in front of a Rattlers' pass, advancing up the field before leading Gabriel Nevarez toward the box. Nevarez took a touch and slipped a shot under the arm of Thurbin and into the corner of the goal for a 1-0 lead. St. Mary's wouldn't let the Buffs sit in the driver's seat for too long as Sofian Maghouz found a streaking Gianluca Fiorini on the back post. WT nearly retook the lead in the 36^th minute when an errant pass went to the feet of Matteo Landais. After a few dribbles, Landais ripped a shot from outside the box but hit the crossbar.
 
The pace of play slowed in the second half as the two teams combined for three shots in the first 25 minutes of play. The Rattlers saw a go-ahead chance go high off the foot of Adam Aboohamidi in the 78^th minute. With less than 10 minutes to play, WT nearly stunned St. Mary's with a late goal as a foul set up a Buffalo free kick. On the restart, an initial clearance from the Rattlers' defenders went to Sharif Mohammed who quickly sent the ball back in. Mohammed's back-post pass went to Leano who headed the ball back to the middle of the box. As the ball floated into reach, Quintin Benn-John looked to have a header into the back of the net, but a kick save from Thurbin kept the game tied at one. St. Mary's couldn't come up with a late goal as the WT defense preserved a 1-1 draw.
 
WT returns to The Pitch on Wednesday, Nov. 6 when the Buffs host St. Edward's on Senior Night. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.