OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA – UT Tyler goalkeeper Diego Berlingeri had an unbelievable night in net for the Patriots as he held off Oklahoma Christian for all 90 minutes to allow Thato Meko to collect his first goal of the season in a critical 1-0 win on Wednesday night.
 
UT Tyler had an uncharacteristically slow night on the offensive front as the Eagles took the early charge on the offensive side of the ball. That press from the Eagles put a lot of pressure on Berlingeri throughout the first half, with the first action coming 17 minutes into the contest.
 
That save from Berlingeri was on a one-on-one situation in which he was the last man to beat, but he made the calm save to keep the game scoreless. Just over five minutes later, it was Berlingeri again coming up clutch as he stopped another pair of shots just seconds apart as the Eagles rained down their offensive attack.
 
The best save of the night from arguably the Eagles best chance of the night came at the 38 minute mark of the first half. Another Oklahoma Christian attack broke through as a pair of smooth passes found their way into the box. The ball was deflected but bounced into the lap of a waiting Eagles forward who laced a shot on net, but Berlingeri made another big save and kept it 0-0.
 
The second half saw the Patriots come out with a little more edge on the offensive half, while the defense continued a strong showing. However, through 70 minutes, UT Tyler had yet to record a shot in the contest. All of that changed in the 75^th minute as the Patriots capitalized on their chance.
 
Offensive pressure from the Patriots led to a clearance from Oklahoma Christian, but Nori Ito was there for the beautiful one-time pass that found a wide open Lukas Paulun who dropped off a perfect through ball to a sprinting Meko who slotted home the goal on the first shot of the night for UT Tyler.
 
Berlingeri was forced to make four more saves after the lone Patriots goal, including two in the final 1:07 of the contest, but his work in net maintained the Patriots lead and the clean sheet.
 
Thato Meko picked up his first goal of the season and his second of his Patriots career in the win.
 
Lukas Paulun added in his first assist of the year to bring his team leading point total up to seven for the year.
 
Nori Ito picked up his second assist, joining teammate Craig Chisholm in a tie for the team lead.
 
Diego Berlingeri totaled seven saves on the evening, raising his total to 16 so far in 2023. He also lowered his goals against average to 0.55 and raised his save percentage to 88%.
 
Next up for UT Tyler will be Senior Day on Saturday evening as they host DBU in more non-conference action as they near the start of LSC play.