TYLER, TEXAS – UT Tyler is set for matches against two teams sitting in the top half of the Lone Star Conference standings this week on Wednesday and Saturday against Texas Woman's and Angelo State.
 
Wednesday's match against Texas Woman's will see the Patriots return home for the first time since Oct. 9 and will also serve as the annual Blue Out Game for the program. Saturday's match will take place in San Angelo, Texas at 1 p.m. against a Rambelle team who enters the week receiving votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches Top 25 NCAA Division II Poll.
 
UT Tyler begins the week 4-6 on the year and 2-5 in Lone Star Conference play. The Patriots dropped their lone match last week on Saturday afternoon by a 1-0 final to Lubbock Christian and have dropped three straight matches entering Wednesday night.
 
HALFWAY HOME
 
UT Tyler women's soccer has officially made it to the halfway point of the 13-game Lone Star Conference schedule and have six matches remaining in the 2021 regular season including this week's slate of games. The Patriots sit six points back of the magic seventh place standing in the conference race for the seven spots available in the 2021 LSC Postseason Tournament.
 
Both opponents this week sit inside the top seven of those standings as Texas Woman's ranks second with 18 points and a record of 6-2 in league play, while Angelo State sits in fourth with 14 points and a 4-2-2 mark in conference action. DBU is three points clear of Texas Woman's with 21 points, while St. Edward's (16), Lubbock Christian (13), Midwestern State (12), West Texas A&M (12) round of the other teams within the top seven.
 
A LOOK AT THE STATS
 
The Patriots have clearly shown the potential to compete amongst the elite in the Lone Star Conference this fall, and find themselves near the top of the statistical rankings in a few different categories. UT Tyler is averaging the second highest shot total per contest (18.90) this season, trailing just West Texas A&M (22.08) and sits third in the LSC with an average of 9.20 shots on goal per game.
 
The Patriots average 5.20 points per game, fifth best in the LSC, and also rank fifth in the league with an average of 1.90 goals per game having scored 19 in 10 games played.
 
SCOUTING AND HISTORY WITH TEXAS WOMAN'S
 
The Pioneers are 9-2-2 on the year and have reeled off three straight wins heading into Wednesday night's visit to Tyler. Texas Woman's hasn't lost a road contest all year, standing 5-0-1 on the road, and will be coming off of a big road win in Saturday's 5-4 overtime victory for the Pioneers over West Texas A&M in Canyon, Texas.
 
Texas Woman's has surrendered the least amount of goals for the year in the league (8), and has pitched nine shutouts so far in 2021. Keeper Alexandra Jacinto leads the conference with a .665 goals against average and sports a .733 save percentage.
 
The two programs have met twice, once in 2019 and then earlier this spring, both games of which were decided by just a single goal. Texas Woman's needed overtime to defeat the Patriots in their first year competing against LSC foes in 2019, escaping Tyler with a 3-2 victory. The Pioneers then defended their home turf earlier this spring with a 1-0 victory on Mar. 27^th.
 
SCOUTING AND HISTORY WITH ANGELO STATE
 
Angelo State stands in the receiving votes category for the fifth straight week after dropping out of the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll after week three. The Rambelles are 9-2-2 on the year and are 1-1-1 in their last three matches with a loss against #5 DBU, a 2-1 victory over West Texas A&M, and a 2-2 tie against Texas A&M-Commerce in their last match on Saturday.
 
Angelo State claimed the 2021 Spring LSC Women's Soccer Regular Season and Tournament Championships with a 10-0 regular season record and three straight 1-0 wins in the LSC Postseason Tournament.
 
This fall's versions of the Rambelles sit fourth with 14 points so far in LSC play and have suffered a pair of 2-1 losses against St. Mary's and DBU as the team's only blemishes. Graduate student Avery McNeme leads the league in assists with eight on the year, and also leads the team with five goals scored.
 
Angelo State and UT Tyler have met just one time prior to Saturday's match, a 2-1 decision in favor of the Rambelles back on Oct. 26, 2019 in San Angelo.