TYLER, TEXAS – The Patriots have provided a flurry of second half goals in the first two contests of the year, and Thursday night's game would be no different as Brajdi Cekrezi and Thato Meko posted their first goals of the season to lead the Patriots to a 2-0 victory.
 
The first half of action saw a back-and-forth affair, but the Tigers came out of the gates with some quick pressure to put the Patriots on their heels. It took just five minutes for the Tigers to get a shot on goal, but the always reliable Mathias Eriksen was there for the stop in the bottom left corner.
 
UT Tyler responded with their own pressure, putting three consecutive shots on goal from the 15^th minute to the 26^th minute. Sergio Sola took advantage of a bouncing ball in the box, and struck a laser that keeper Armani Atilano was just able to get a foot to. Nolan Giles had his own crack at goal, but Atilano was there again for the nice save to force a corner kick.
 
Both teams settled into a defensive stalemate at that point, with the Patriots posting the only two shots for the remainder of the half. At halftime, it was UT Tyler leading in the shot count at 9-5, and they held a 3-1 advantage in shots on goal.
 
The second half started in a completely different way for the Patriots, as they seized the momentum quickly and put the Tigers on their heels. Just two minutes in, Zach Panagiotou put the first shot on goal in the second half, but it was saved by the Tigers.
 
That pressure ramped up even higher, with the Patriots taking two more shots and earning two corner kicks over the span of the next 10 minutes.
 
Seeing the opportunity was Brajdi Cekrezi, who broke the seal on the goal after unleashing a brilliant shot from the left corner of the box that curled just inside the right post. That was the first goal of the year from Cekrezi, and the Patriots led 1-0.
 
With the momentum going in their direction, UT Tyler hit the gas pedal on both offense and defense. The defense would allow one shot at the 71^st minute mark of the game, and not allow any others for the final 19 minutes of the contest.
 
Five more shots came over the next 24 minutes for the Patriots, before Thato Meko added in the insurance goal to put away the Tigers.
 
Meko picked up a pass at midfield and made a long run by himself while avoiding several defenders to get himself into the box. From there, he launched up a quick shot that the Tigers keeper got a hand on, but still had enough on it to find the back of the net and make it 2-0.
 
That second half run saw the Patriots outshoot the Tigers 10-2 in the period. They also posted a 5-1 shots on goal advantage and earned a 4-0 advantage in corner kicks.
 
For the third consecutive game, the Patriots have scored multiple goals in the second half.
 
This is the first time that UT Tyler has started 3-0 since the 2014 season in which they finished 8-5-4 and finished fifth in the ASC.
 
This is the first season since 2004 in which the Patriots have started 3-0 and won all three games by multiple goals. In that season, the Patriots were NCAA provisional members, and finished in second place in the ASC.
 
Next up for UT Tyler will be the second game of the homestand as they take on RV Rogers State on Saturday, September 10^th, at 3 p.m. That game will also double as senior day, and the Patriots will be honoring their seniors prior to kickoff with a ceremony.