AUSTIN, Texas – The 14^th-ranked St. Edward's Men's Soccer completed its second-straight undefeated slate in the Heartland Conference with a 3-0 shutout of long-time rival St. Mary's Sunday afternoon at Lewis-Chen Family Field.
 
Both teams traded shots for the first 30 minutes of action. In the 30^th minute, a St. Edward's player drew a foul against St. Mary's in the penalty box earning a penalty kick. Junior JACK BLANTON calmly stepped up and notched his third penalty-kick goal of the season for a 1-0 Hilltopper lead.
 
St. Mary's tried to respond in 32^nd minute when leading scorer Victor Luna ripped a shot towards the Hilltopper net, but goalkeeper KEVIN LEIB was equal to the task for the save.
 
The Hilltoppers countered with DYLAN ARMSTRONG, who sent three shots at the Rattler goal during the next two minutes with one of them clanking off of the post. The half would end with St. Edward's holding the narrow 1-0 lead.
 
In the second half, the Hilltoppers would add to their lead in the 55^th minute. RYAN DENDINGER sent a cross into the box near post. Armstrong left it off for GRANT MOBLEY who scored his second goal of the season from eight yards away.
 
St. Edward's put the game away in the 67^th minute when Armstrong found JULIAN SANCHEZ. From 10 yard out, Sanchez tallied his second goal of the season. The Hilltoppers would coast from there as they bested the Rattlers in this "Battle of the Saints" matchup.
 
"I know it is just one game, but it is an accumulation of season-long work to finish the year undefeated in Heartland Conference play," head coach Brian Young said. "To finish at the top of a conference that I think is getting deeper each year is quite an accomplishment. The men are going to be able to look back on this and see just how remarkable it was."
 
St. Edward's outshot St. Mary's, 15-6. The Hilltoppers have now won eight-straight matches versus the Rattlers and own an all-time 40-15-7 record against the University in San Antonio.
 
Leib, along with senior PHILLIP ELLIS, combined for the team's 13^th shutout of the season. The Hilltoppers lead the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 0.40 goals-against per game.
 
"We followed the game plan from the start," Leib stated. "We wanted to win this one for the seniors and that was our motivation for the match."
 
The match was "Senior Day" on the Hilltop, as St. Edward's honored six players who are playing their final season in Blue and Gold.
 
St. Edward's will be back in action Thursday when they host the 2015 Heartland Conference Championship Tournament. Second-seeded Newman will take on third-seeded Texas A&M-International at 11 a.m., with the Hilltoppers hosting St. Mary's at 1:30 p.m. The winners of each semifinal matchup will advance to the championship match on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. All games will take place at Lewis-Chen Family Field. Live video and stats will be available on the Hilltopper Athletic Website.