TYLER, Texas – A disciplined defensive performance led to UT Tyler's third consecutive shutout, and
Uriah Shipman and
Steven Chavez scored second-half goals to lift the Patriots to a 2-0 win over LSU Shreveport Monday night.
The Patriots, out-shot in the first half by a 6-2 margin, tightened things up in the second half and turned the pressure onto the LSU Shreveport goal. Shipman, a senior midfielder, put a left-footed strike into the net after freshman midfielder
Shane Popieluch collected a bad clearance in the 68
th minute to give UT Tyler a 1-0 lead, and Chavez added the insurance goal with less than 10 minutes left to help secure the win.
Senior goalkeeper
Parker O'Quinn made four saves to lead the Patriot defense to its third consecutive shutout performance. With the win, UT Tyler improves to 3-1 on the season while LSU Shreveport drops to 4-3-2.
How It Happened: LSU Shreveport kept the pressure on the Patriots throughout much of the first half, controlling possession to produce a 6-2 advantage in shots in the first half. Among the Pilots' best chances were a 17
th-minute free kick from just outside the box, which O'Quinn punched away from danger, and a 24
th minute two-on-one chance after a UT Tyler giveaway deep in its own territory. The resulting shot just missed over the crossbar from close range, keeping the game scoreless at the time. One of the Patriots' two first-half shots was a quality look on a
Travis Collins header to the near post, which just missed wide into the side netting of the goal.
In the second half, the teams only combined for seven more shots, with UT Tyler generating a 4-3 edge after halftime. After an extended buildup with possession on the right side of the field, the ball was played in to
Michael Agyeman at the top of the box. When LSU Shreveport double-teamed him and tried to clear the ball away, it landed at the feet of Popieluch, who immediately sent it into the box for Shipman's left-footed finish to the right side of the net.
Shipman's first goal of the season gave UT Tyler a 1-0 lead in the 68
th minute, and
Steven Chavez added his first goal of the year in the 82
nd minute when another offensive buildup produced his scoring chance. Chavez started the possession on the left side before starting it back around to the right side, where
Edwin Saldivar crossed it to the far post. Chavez was waiting there to put his head on it, placing it between the goalkeeper and the crossbar on a bounce to extend the lead to 2-0.
By The Numbers: All eight UT Tyler goals this year have been scored by a different player, and no player has recorded more than one goal or one assist…
Steven Chavez, who assisted last week's game-winner against Texas College, is the only Patriot with both a goal and an assist… The cleansheet was the first of the year for
Parker O'Quinn, who shared time in goal in UT Tyler's last two victories… The Patriots have produced 309 consecutive scoreless minutes.
What's Next: The Patriots wrap up the non-conference portion of the schedule this week, hosting Southwestern Assemblies of God on Friday, Sept. 27, before visiting DBU on Saturday, Sept. 28, in Dallas. UT Tyler opens its inaugural Lone Star Conference season on Thursday, Oct. 3, at home against NCAA Division II's No. 5-ranked West Texas A&M.
Quotable (UT Tyler head coach Kenny Jones): "Nothing really changed for us between halves. They controlled the ball at our end in the first half, but that was fine because the most important thing was not breaking down with what we were trying to get done. In terms of that, we accomplished what we wanted and got to halftime at 0-0."
"We were able to minimize the opportunities against a very talented team, and we're a pretty young team that's still trying to fit some pieces together. It was good to see us stay disciplined for that long of a period. We were both difficult to break down, but we got a good bounce in the box, and we finished it. Neither team had a lot of opportunities to score, but we did well with the chances we had."
