TYLER, TEXAS – Sergio Sola's golden goal with 55 seconds remaining in the first overtime period gave UT Tyler men's soccer a 1-0 win over DBU and punched the Patriots ticket into the 2021 Spring Lone Star Conference Men's Soccer Championship.
 
Sola's goal on a cross from Thierry Assamoi into the DBU box secured the Patriot's 13^th point of the spring season in Lone Star Conference play and claimed the no. 4 seed in the tournament for UT Tyler. That win tied UT Tyler with UT Permian Basin for fourth place in the conference standings with 13 points, and UT Tyler won the second tiebreaker on goal differential in conference play over the Falcons with a -1 differential in comparison to UT Permian Basin's -3 differential.
 
The win makes it three in a row to close out the abbreviated spring Lone Star Conference schedule for the Patriots to run their overall record to 4-4-1 and their league record to 4-3-1. The appearance in the LSC Tournament will be the first appearance for the Patriots in their first eligible opportunity after the NCAA cancelled all Division II Fall Championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
UT Tyler will meet no. 1 seed West Texas A&M in Canyon, Texas on Saturday at 5 p.m. as the Buffs clinched the right to host the tournament with 18 points in conference play after a record of 6-2 against Lone Star Conference foes this spring.
 
The cross from Assamoi gave Sola a near-perfect opportunity to net the golden goal, as Sola punched the bouncing ball past the DBU keeper to solidify a dominant match for the Patriots. UT Tyler totaled 22 total shots, six of which were on goal, and dominated the possession throughout the match. That shot on goal that finally made it's way past DBU keeper Alexander Knepper was the second shot on goal of the match for Sola, matching Luis Mahecha's shot on goal target for the most in the match.
 
The Patriots were virtually uncontested throughout the 100 minutes of play after regular time ended with the score still scoreless for either side. The UT Tyler defensive effort notched their third straight clean sheet in as many matches to close out the regular season as keeper Mathias Eriksen made saves on both DBU shot on goal attempts.
 
Saturday's meeting, in what will stand as the semifinals of the tournament as just four LSC teams qualified for the postseason tournament based on conference points, will be a rematch of a match held at 1^st Citizen's Bank-Perkins Soccer Complex back on Feb. 23 between West Texas A&M and UT Tyler. West Texas A&M got the better of UT Tyler in that decision, posting a 1-0 win.
 
The winner of Saturday's semifinal will take on the winner of no. 2 seed St. Mary's and no. 3 seed Midwestern State on Monday evening in Canyon at 5 p.m. for the right to claim the 2021 Spring Lone Star Conference Men's Soccer Championship.