WICHITA FALLS, Texas – After consecutive draws against Top 25-ranked opponents to start its first season of Lone Star Conference play, UT Tyler met its first Top-10 foe and dropped a 3-0 decision to No. 9-ranked Midwestern State Thursday night.
The Patriots kept the Lone Star Conference-leading Mustangs off the scoreboard for most of the first half until Hikaruhito Meike broke through in the 39
th minute to snap a streak of 209 consecutive scoreless minutes by the UT Tyler defense.
Midwestern State added a pair of goals just 91 seconds apart early in the second half to extend the lead to 3-0, and the lead held throughout the second half as the Mustangs produced a 15-7 edge in shots for the game.
With the loss, UT Tyler drops to 5-2-2 overall and 0-1-2 in Lone Star Conference play. Midwestern State improves to 9-1 overall and remains perfect in LSC play at 4-0.
How It Happened: Midwestern State registered the first six shots of the game before UT Tyler's only first-half shot attempt midway through the period, and the Mustangs produced the game's first score in the 39
th minute when Hikaruhito Meike scored his third goal of the season to break the scoreless tie.
The Mustangs also scored on their first two shots of the second half, extending the lead to 2-0 when Sergio Lara set up Trevor Amann for a goal in the 53
rd minute before Sola scored unassisted just 91 seconds later to make it 3-0 in the 54
th minute.
The Patriots generated consecutive corner kicks with less than 15 minutes to play, with the second leading to a
Lucas Coehlo shot on goal which was saved by MSU goalkeeper Taylor Lampe.
Luis Aguilar also put a shot on goal off a corner kick in the 86
th minute, but Lampe made the stop for his second save of the game to preserve the shutout.
By The Numbers: Midwestern State finished with a 14-7 edge in shots, including an 11-1 margin in the first half… Goalkeepers
Parker O'Quinn (UT Tyler) and Taylor Lampe (Midwestern State) each finished with two saves… Both teams generated five corner kicks and the Patriots drew the Mustangs offside twice…
Steven Chavez had two shots and was the only UT Tyler player with more than one shot.
What's Next: UT Tyler is back on the road for a Saturday, Oct. 12 visit to Oklahoma Christian, which was off Thursday. The Patriots return home next week to continue Lone Star Conference play with a home game against St. Mary's on Saturday, Oct. 19.
