TYLER, Texas -- Extra time seems to be developing into a regular occurrence for UT Tyler's men's soccer team, as the Patriots tied St. Edward's Thursday night, 1-1, to move into a three-way tie for seventh place in the Lone Star Conference standings after playing its sixth overtime game in the past nine contests.
Lucas Coelho scored in the 78th minute, tying the game at 1-1 after UT Tyler fought back from a one-goal deficit for over 60 minutes. The Patriots turned up the pressure in overtime, producing five shots while allowing just two to the Hilltoppers, but neither team converted in the additional 20 minutes after regulation.
With the draw, UT Tyler is now 6-5-3 overall and 1-3-3 in the Lone Star Conference, pushing the Patriots up to a three-way tie for seventh place in the LSC standings with six points. St. Edward's, which entered the night in second place in the league standings, dropped to third as the Hilltoppers are now 6-6-3 overall and 5-1-2 in conference play.
How It Happened: St. Edward's scored an early goal when its leading scorer Parker Fyfe scored his seventh goal of the year in the 16th minute with an assist from Chen Adjei to give the Hilltoppers a 1-0 lead. UT Tyler put three shots on goal through the rest of the half but Kellen Gullion stopped all three to keep the one-goal lead intact at halftime.
Midway through the second half, Carlos Medina fired a shot from the left side of the penalty area, but a St. Edward's defender cleared it away from danger. Minutes later, with the Patriots producing continued pressure on the attack, Lucas Coelho collected a failed clearance about 25 yards from the goal, and he bounced a shot to the far post past Gullion to tie the game at 1-1 in the 78th minute.
The teams combined for seven shots over the final 13 minutes of regulation, but they were all off the mark, sending the game to overtime. In the first overtime, UT Tyler put three shots on goal in less than 90 seconds, as Uriah Shipman, Carlos Medina, and Nicolas Viader each had a chance stopped by Gullion.
At the end of the first overtime, a UT Tyler foul led to a free kick from just outside the penalty box, but Daniel Wakeham's shot was blocked by a defender in the wall to send the game to a second 10-minute overtime. Parker O'Quinn saved the only St. Edward's shot in the final 10 minutes, and Noah Kubala had UT Tyler's only shot opportunity in the period, a 107th-minute strike which missed high and right. Neither team produced a shot in the final two minutes, concluding the game with a 1-1 tie.
By The Numbers: Six of UT Tyler's last nine games have gone to overtime, with the Patriots going 2-1-3 in those contests… St. Edward's finished with a 16-15 edge in shots, although UT Tyler posted a 5-2 edge in shots in extra time… Lucas Coelho's goal was his first of the season, making him the 14th different player with a goal for the Patriots this year… Goalkeepers Kellen Gullion and Parker O'Quinn combined for nine saves, with Gullion making seven stops while O'Quinn finished with a pair of saves… UT Tyler had nine shots on goal, tying its highest in Lone Star Conference play this year… Ten different players registered a shot for UT Tyler.
What's Next: UT Tyler hosts two of its final three games of the season, starting with a Saturday, Nov. 2 matchup against DBU. The Patriots visit St. Mary's on Nov. 7 and return home for the final game of the season against Texas A&M International on Nov. 9.
Quotable (UT Tyler head coach Kenny Jones): "Every game has been different, and I think tonight was a response to where we actually could be. Over the last three games we've just given up too many goals, so I challenged the guys tonight in response to the tradition of what we've normally done defensively, and they responded well. Travis Collins hasn't played in the back much this year, but he looked like he never missed a step back there for us." "After a while, it's not about the overtime, it's just another opportunity to play for a victory. I think the way the guys approach it is just that they have another opportunity to go win the game."
