TYLER, TEXAS – UT Tyler women's soccer will begin their season on the road on September 4^th at 1 p.m. against Rogers State.
 
A LOOK BACK
 
Last season saw the Patriots post a 10-4-3 record, their best year in the Division II era. They began the year with five straight victories and played to a 5-4-3 LSC record. The Patriots ultimately fell just short of making the conference tournament due to the tiebreaker situation after weather affected much of the final week of games across the conference.
 
Natalie Jones earned a pair of All-Region nods from the United Soccer Coaches and D2CCA, and Brooke Mullins was named the LSC Academic Athlete of the Year, a first in the program's history.
 
THE SPRING SEASON
 
"I feel like we had some big shoes to fill losing 12 seniors from last year that played some big roles for us but to be honest I was absolutely blown away at the growth we had in the spring," head coach Stefani Webb said. "We had some players step up bigtime not just in their play but in their confidence. Our leadership really took a massive step in who they want to be and what that looks like in everything we do, and I think really addressed some areas we have to be better in so coming into this preseason I feel really good about not only who we are as a team but the level we are playing at."
 
JONES AND MULLINS LEADERSHIP
 
"Nat and Brooke are special in that they are so driven to be great in everything they do. Their work rate and dedication to this program have been incredible for sure, and because of that they have had great careers up to this point. I think what makes this group special right now is that all 6 seniors are pouring themselves into this drive to be great, this belief in who we can be and they are in love with the work it is going to take. Not just the work on the field but the work building into each other and really loving each other well."
 
WHO TO WATCH
 
"I think defensively we return Gabrielle Wiebe, Katelyn Walerczyk and Emily Clark from last year's roster, all of which were tremendous for us and allowed us to have a .60 goals against average last year. Melissa Oliveira, Marin Love and Dani Anaya all return to the midfield and were fantastic this spring. And then we were one of the top goal scoring teams in the country last year and really were on fire this spring. Brooke and Nat help in that obviously, but Katie Wong and Ella Anderson were scoring some bigtime goals for us as well. We added some impact transfers and freshmen to the mix across the board to really just help us elevate in every position."
 
THE NON-CONFERENCE SLATE
 
"Rogers State and ECU are two extremely hard opponents, especially on the road. We knew we needed to schedule a hard non-conference slate if we are going to truly prepare for the LSC and not just the talent level of the LSC but traveling in this conference is one of the hardest parts of not just surviving but succeeding in this conference so had to learn those lessons in non-conference. We have to develop that mental toughness early to be successful and our non-conference schedule should prepare us well."
 
The Patriots will play Rogers State and East Central on September 4^th and 6^th on the road for their first two non-conference games. Following those two, the Patriots will welcome in Jarvis Christian and Northeastern State on September 10^th and 13^th for a pair of home contests to wrap up their non-conference schedule.
 
A TOUGH STRETCH
 
"Like I said earlier there really aren't any easy days in this conference but if I look at where it will be the toughest it is for sure West Texas A&M on the road, with Angelo State right after that on the road. Then Sul Ross and St. Mary's home then back on the road for Midwestern State. That's a tough 2 weeks not just in terms of travel but it's also around midterms and with so many nurses on our team we know classes are going to be tough so mentally and physically we have to have a plan for that stretch for sure."
 
The Patriots will begin their LSC slate with a road trip to UT Permian Basin on September 17^th before hosting Texas A&M International and DBU at home on September 20^th and 24^th. They will then hit the road again for matchups with Lubbock Christian and St. Edward's on September 27^th and October 1^st.
 
They will then return home October 4^th and 8^th for games against Texas Woman's and Oklahoma Christian before beginning the tough stretch of five games from October 11^th through the 25^th that will see West Texas A&M, Angelo State, Sul Ross, St. Mary's, and Midwestern State.
 
The final two games of the year will be at home against Eastern New Mexico on October 29^th, and then a renewed rivalry matchup with new LSC foe UT Dallas on November 4^th on the road.