Game Notes
 
CANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M men's soccer team opens the 2023 season on the road Saturday evening. The Buffs, coming off an appearance in the 2022 NCAA tournament, face off against Lone Star Conference foe St. Mary's at 5 p.m. at Sigma Beta Chi Field.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Live stats and broadcast will be available for the season opener provided by the St. Mary's athletic communications department with the game aired on the LSC Digital Network. For more information visit GoBuffsGo.com. 
 
All TIME SERIES
WT leads the all-time series with St. Mary's, 21-6-4. The Buffs and Rattlers played to two draws last season with a 1-1 final in Canyon and a scoreless ending in San Antonio. St. Mary's registered the last decision with a 2-1 overtime defeat of WT in 2021.
 
SCOUTING ST. MARY'S
St. Mary's opened its season with a 1-0 victory over Lone Star Conference opponent, UT Tyler. The game remained scoreless until the Rattlers' Cian Foley found space at the edge of the 18-yard box where he ripped a shot into the bottom corner of the goal. In goal, Johnny Thurbin posted a clean sheet with six saves.
 
BUTCH LAUFFER
Butch Lauffer is in his 33RD season as head men's soccer coach at West Texas A&M University. As the longest tenured head coach in WT history, Lauffer has coached the men to 30 consecutive non-losing seasons and the women to 12-plus victories in 12 seasons. Lauffer has recorded a 370-165-49 (.676) record at the helm of the Buffs with a 559-232-66 (.691) overall record at WT.
 
2022 RECAP
The Buffs finished third in the Lone Star Conference, appearing in the first round of the conference tournament. WT's regular-season performance earned a berth to the NCAA Tournament against Northwest Nazarene. The Buffs and Nighthawks battled to a 1-1 draw before NNU outscored WT 6-5 in penalty kicks. The Buffs posted a 6-4-9 overall record with a 4-1-4 mark in conference play. Kenny Brown, Bryan Martinez, and Giancarlo Saldana earned spots on All-Region teams with Brown earning first-team honors for both the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) and United Soccer Coaches. Saldana and Martinez earned second team mentions for the D2CCA and United Soccer Coaches teams, respectively.
 
LSC PRESEASON POLL
Reigning Lone Star Conference champion St. Mary's sat atop the rankings, collecting 22 of 30 first-place votes for 283 points, followed by Midwestern State (three fpv, 242 points). The Buffs followed just behind the Mustangs with three first-place votes and 237 points. Dallas Baptist collected 207 points with two first-place votes and Oklahoma Christian (192) finished out the top five teams.
 
Lubbock Christian (155) sat sixth in the poll followed by UT Tyler (114) and Texas A&M International (88). St. Edward's (75) and Eastern New Mexico (57) finish the preseason poll. 
 
A LOOK AHEAD
WT takes a week off before resuming the season against Fort Lewis. The Buffs and Skyhawks will meet at FLC Dirks Field on Sept. 9 for an 8 p.m. kickoff.