AUSTIN, TEXAS – UT Tyler women's soccer used eight saves from Camri Cecil and a goal in the 69^th minute from freshman Vanessa Bart to earn a much-needed three points in a 1-0 road victory over St. Edward's on Wednesday afternoon.
 
Bart's eventual game winner in the 69^th minute snaps a five-game losing streak for the Patriots and effectively keeps UT Tyler in the mix for one of seven spots available in the 2021 LSC Women's Soccer Championships. Cecil made eight saves and faced 24 shots against a St. Edward's side that entered Wednesday's road contest in fifth place in the LSC standings with a league record of 5-3-1 and an overall record of 7-5-2.
 
The deciding finish came on a bouncing ball in the St. Edward's box after UT Tyler's Emily Dress made a heads up play to save a ball from nearly going out of play on the Hilltopper's touchline. Dress redirected the ball back into the St. Edward's box, allowing Bart to get a foot on the ball past the St. Edward's keeper and into the net.
 
That finish broke a scoreless tie and allowed the Patriot defense to stand strong for the final 20 minutes of play, conceding two shot on goal attempts to St. Edward's that were both stopped by Cecil. Cecil's final two saves in those last 20 minutes gave the junior keeper her seventh and eighth saves of the match, a season high total for the Lago Vista, Texas native.
 
The Patriots notched six shots on goal themselves, the best effort which came less than ten minutes into the contest off the foot of freshman Faith Adje in the 10^th minute on a shot that narrowly made it's way past St. Edward's keeper Abby Carlson. Carlson just got her finger tips on the Adje shot from outside the Hilltopper's box that was heading for the top corner of the goal before Carlson was able to redirect the effort.
 
Adje was one of six Patriots to log shot on goal attempts in the contest on an afternoon in which the Patriots totaled 10 shot attempts. St. Edward's recorded 24 shot attempts for the game, but were unable to beat Cecil throughout the entirety of the match.
 
The clean sheet for the Patriots is the second shutout of the 2021 LSC schedule for head coach Stefani Webb's squad and gives UT Tyler their ninth point in LSC play. The Patriots are now 5-8 on the year, and 3-7 in LSC play.
 
UT Tyler will need to continue to gain ground on the league standings throughout the final three matches of the regular season, two of which will take place in the friendly confines of the Citizen's 1^st Bank-Perkins Soccer Complex.
 
The first of those home matches will take place on Saturday afternoon in the annual Kick Out Cancer Game for UT Tyler at 2 p.m. against Midwestern State.