TYLER, Texas – UT Tyler gave up a pair of second-half goals in a 3-0 defeat to NCAA Division II's No. 19-ranked St. Mary's (Texas), the fourth Top 25-ranked opponent the Patriots have faced in the past five games.
UT Tyler had a chance to tie the game at 1-1 with a 39th-minute penalty kick, but St. Mary's goalkeeper Jacob Sayle made an impressive save of Edwin Saldivar's try from the spot, preserving the Rattlers' 1-0 lead into halftime. St. Mary's added goals in the 61st and 66th minutes, extending the lead to 3-0 as the Rattlers posted their fifth shutout of the season.
With the defeat, UT Tyler falls to 6-3-2 overall, while St. Mary's is now 9-2-1 overall. Although both teams are Lone Star Conference members, Saturday's matchup was a scheduled non-conference contest and will not count towards the conference standings. The teams' Lone Star Conference counter is the Nov. 7 matchup in San Antonio.
How It Happened: UT Tyler took the attack to St. Mary's early on, taking the first three shots of the game in the first 10 minutes. However, the Rattlers created their first scoring chance with an attack from the left side to Ollie Wright, who lost the ball to a trio of collapsing Patriot defenders. However, the successful tackle that got the ball away from Wright ended up at the feet of Martin Ibarreche, who quickly deposited it into the net from 12 yards out to give St. Mary's a 1-0 lead.
In the 39th minute, Uriah Shipman won three consecutive battles for possession deep in St. Mary's territory, and he was fouled in the box on the third try, setting up a penalty kick opportunity for Edwin Saldivar. Jacob Sayle made the save to keep the 1-0 lead intact through halftime.
In the second half, St. Mary's registered a 14-4 edge in shots, putting two goals into the net from the combination of Ollie Wright and Edu Toiny-Pedred. Wright scored in the 61st minute off an assist from Toiny-Pedred, and they switched roles in the 66th minute with Toiny-Pedred scoring with an assist from Wright to extend the lead to 3-0.
By The Numbers: St. Mary's produced a 20-12 edge in shots, although UT Tyler generated an 8-6 advantage in first-half shots… UT Tyler had a 5-3 edge in corner kicks… Parker O'Quinn made four first-half saves, and Giancarlo Ayanegui played the second half in goal for UT Tyler, making two saves… Travis Collins and Ramiro Alvarez each took three shots to lead the Patriots' attack… St. Mary's goalkeeper Jacob Sayle finished with five saves, giving the Rattlers' their program-record fifth shutout of the season while extending their winning streak to six, another program-best.
What's Next: The remaining six games on the schedule are all Lone Star Conference matchups, starting with visits next week to Lubbock Christian (Oct. 24) and UT Permian Basin (Oct. 26).
