SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Sometimes all it takes is one chance, and the UT Tyler men's soccer team made the most of a first-half opportunity to claim a 1-0 upset on the road at No. 16-ranked St. Mary's Tuesday afternoon.
 
UT Tyler spent most of the first half defending its own goal, turning away 10 first-half shots from St. Mary's. Five of the 10 shots were on goal, requiring saves from goalkeeper Mathias Eriksen, but a quick breakout counterattack presented the Patriots with a scoring chance in the 33^rd minute when Thierry Assamoi got the ball to Todd Fuller near midfield.
 
Fuller led Sergio Sola down the right side of the penalty area, where Sola crossed it in front of the face of the goal. St. Mary's had defenders protecting the near and far post, but the defender at the near post was not able to control the ball off his chest. The ball bounced between the defender and the goalkeeper for an own goal, giving the Patriots a 1-0 lead.
 
St. Mary's generated a 10-0 shots advantage in the first half and finished with a total shots margin of 17-3, but Eriksen finished with 6 saves as the Patriot defense held steadfast for its second consecutive shutout.
 
The result brought UT Tyler to a .500 record in Lone Star Conference play at 3-3-1, and the Patriots are now 3-4-1 overall after defeating the 2019 LSC regular-season champions. St. Mary's fell to 5-2 overall and 4-2 in LSC play.
 
UT Tyler wraps up the regular season on Tuesday, April 6, when it hosts DBU with a chance to post a winning LSC record and finish .500 overall. The Patriots climbed into a three-way tie for fourth place in the LSC standings and remain alive for one of the four spots in the LSC Men's Soccer Championship.