CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M women's soccer couldn't find an offensive rhythm on Saturday night as the Lady Buffs fell to the St. Mary's Rattlers, 2-0. With the loss, WT falls to 4-3 overall and 1-1 in Lone Star Conference play while St. Mary's improves to 4-2-1 overall and 2-0 in league play.
 
The game started as a possession battle until the eighth minute when Natalie Gonzalez placed a shot on goal for Reagan Heelan's first save of the night. The attempt from St. Mary's started a flurry of shots where Heelan made a save on three shots faced. The Rattlers continued to press up the field where WT stood strong, keeping the St. Mary's off the board. As the clock went under two minutes to play in the first half, a ball from the Rattlers' back line went to the Lady Buff back line where a failed clearance fell to the feet of Gonzalez. With Heelan racing to cut down the angle, Gonzalez slipped past the goalkeeper and put the ball in the open goal. In the first 45 minutes of the game, St. Mary's held a 1-0 lead on the scoreboard off a 9-0 advantage in shots.
 
The second half saw the Rattlers continue to pressure the WT defense, quickly taking possession on the Lady Buffs' side of the field. Less than two minutes into the second half, Heelan recorded her fifth save of the night before picking up another a few minutes later. St. Mary's persisted in the attacking third, peppering shots toward the WT goal throughout the second half. The Lady Buffs recorded their first shot in the LSC match up in the 68^th minute when Bailey Malone saw her shot go wide left. The Rattlers scored their second goal of the night in the 72^nd minute when Shelby Paniagua played a ball over the top for Malia Dominguez. As Dominguez raced to the ball, miscommunication from the Lady Buffs allowed the St. Mary's attacker to gain possession and put the ball in the back of the net. WT found a chance to score in the 82^nd minute as a foul set up a free kick for Malone. Malone's kick on the restart went to the goal but floated just over the bar. The Lady Buffs' best look at goal came in the final minute of the game when a Rattlers' foul just outside the 18-yard box gifted WT a free kick. As Madison Stokes restarted play, her shot rattled the post, missing a goal by a matter of inches.
 
WT returns to action with Youth Day on Wednesday, Oct. 2 against Oklahoma Christian. The Lady Buffs and Eagles are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at The Pitch in Canyon.