MONROE, La. -- UT Tyler women's soccer team returned to game action for the first time in 452 days, and the Patriots delivered a scoreless opening half against NCAA Division I Louisiana-Monroe before ULM's Janet Stopka registered a second-half hat trick for a 3-0 win Wednesday afternoon.
The long layoff came after UT Tyler posted a strong finish to its first Lone Star Conference season in 2019, and the Patriots battled to a scoreless first-half draw against the Warhawks despite ULM's commanding 20-5 shots margin in the first 45 minutes.
"It was great to be back out there playing after a year off," head coach Stefani Webb said. "It was tough to step into that environment at that speed and have all the details down, so that showed in a few moments of lapse which cost us goals."
"That's what these games are about, though; we got better today and got a lot of our young players some great minutes. We will grow from this and be ready for another tough one on Friday. This group is not afraid of the challenge, and I love that. They feel it now and they know we have to be better."
With the loss, UT Tyler fell to 0-1 overall to start the abbreviated spring season, and it snapped the Patriots' four-game unbeaten streak at the end of the 2019 campaign. Louisiana-Monroe picked up its first win of the spring portion of the schedule to improve to 1-10 overall.
How It Happened: UT Tyler put its first shot of the season on goal with Vanessa Bart putting a chance on frame in the 11th minute, but it took the Patriots another 25 minutes to register a shot. During that stretch, Louisiana-Monroe generated 14 shots and a pair of corner kicks. Camri Cecil made 7 of her career-high 11 saves in the opening half to help UT Tyler go into halftime still level with the Warhawks despite the 20-5 disparity in total shots.
However, barely a minute into the second half, Janet Stopka found the back of the net to give ULM a 1-0 lead, and she added goals in the 63rd and 76th minutes to register the hat trick. UT Tyler had 2 shots on goal, and 3 shots total, after halftime.
By The Numbers: Camri Cecil's 11-save performance was just a single save away from tying the school record of 12 set by Paige Harris in 2011… Cecil is now one of three who have notched 11 saves in a contest… Cecil now has 90 career saves, which ranks seventh on the UT Tyler career list… Louisiana-Monroe recorded 4 corner kicks to UT Tyler's 3… The Warhawks generated a 30-8 advantage in shots, including a 20-5 margin in the opening half… Thenia Zervas assisted the last two of Janet Stopka's three goals… Five different players registered a shot for the Patriots, and all five put at least one shot on goal… Vanessa Bart took 3 shots (2 on goal) while Shaylee Anaya registered 2 shots to lead the UT Tyler attack.
What's Next: UT Tyler continues its 10-game spring schedule with two more matchups against NCAA Division I competition before meeting up with Lone Star Conference opponents. The Patriots visit Stephen F. Austin on Friday, Feb. 5 and host Louisiana Tech on Friday, Feb. 12.
