TYLER, Texas – UT Tyler continues to remain unbeaten on the 2021 schedule with a 1-0 victory over DBU. In a defensive battle, it was a goal off the right foot of sophomore Jack Simonini that decided the game.

The goal from Simonini stands as his first collegiate goal, and converted a wild offensive string of events for the Patriots into what would end up being the deciding goal. Sergio Sola sent out a good pass to a streaking Birkir Eydal, whol then sent a pass soaring into the box where Shane Popieluch connected with a rocket of a header that hit the right post. The deflection landed right at the feet of Simonini, who slotted it to the back of the net on the left side.

The Patriots seized control of the match following the goal from Simonini, until a late charge from DBU right before the half evened up the shot count going into the halftime break.

With a shot count of 6-to-6 and momentum firmly against the Patriots, DBU pressed forward into the second half. DBU created numerous opportunities on offense while their defense played flawlessly to begin the half.

It wasn’t until a fantastic save by junior keeper Mathias Eriksen that flipped the momentum back in UT Tyler’s favor. The save by Eriksen was his final one of the match, and it kept a clean sheet for the Patriots.

Eriksen’s saved seemed to give the Patriots life and turned the momentum of the game back into the hands of UT Tyler. It would stay there with a strong defensive effort that only allowed one more shot attempt by DBU.

The offense rebounded quickly, and took a combined eight shots following the diving Mathias save to stop a header from DBU in the 54^thminute. This took the pressure right off of the defense, and allowed the Patriots to tire out DBU down the stretch.

The Patriots continue to have a strong offense through the first three games of the 2021 season. In tonight’s match they took a combined 15 shots with six of those going on goal. Michael Agyeman led the way with four shots, while eight other Patriots registered a shot on goal.

UT Tyler will have a quick turnaround as they head out on the road for a pair of tough road games. On Saturday, Sept. 18^th they will take on #17 ranked Rogers State. Following that match-up the Patriots will play again next Wednesday Sept. 22^nd against St. Mary’s.

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SAN ANGELO – As the Panamanian Women’s National Team prepares for the start of World Cup Qualifying in November, the Belles’ Gabby Villagrand receives another call-up to play in a set of friendlies against Costa Rica at Costa Rica’s La Sabana National Stadium, to be played on September 18 and 21, the Panamanian Football Federation announced on Sunday.

Villagrand has previously made four appearances for Las Canaleras, scoring her first international goal against the Dominican Republic on July 10, 2021 in a 5-0 victory for Panama.

“I think of everyone that I’m representing on my dad’s side of the family,” said Villagrand, who is eligible to represent Panama because her dad, Ricardo, was born and raised in Panama before coming to the U.S. for college. “Anytime I’m there [representing Panama], I’m just thinking what an honor it is to be able to not only represent the country, but I know I’m making my family proud by doing so.”

Due to Villagrand’s commitment with the national team, the forward will miss the Belles’ games against New Mexico Highlands on Saturday as well as the Belles’ conference opener next Wednesday in San Antonio versus St. Mary’s.

“I don’t want to leave my team hanging but I talked with Coach about it, and we agreed that it was the best decision, with it being two games at the beginning of the season, so now is probably the best time to go,” said the senior, who scored her first goal of the season last Thursday versus East Central and started her first match of the season on Saturday against SWOSU. “It’s definitely hard, I’m going to be sad, but I’m excited to watch and support from Costa Rica.”

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ROUND ROCK – Less than two days after a dramatic double-overtime win over Houston-Victoria, the Wayland Baptist women’s soccer team captured a 2-0 victory over Huston-Tillotson here Monday morning.

It was the third straight win for the Pioneers (3-2), who on Saturday defeated Houston-Victoria, 2-1.

“What a great game, especially after a 2-overtime win 48 hours before,” WBU coach Shiloh Posey said. “I couldn’t be more pleased with the efforts of every player. Each one encourages their teammates all the way through. I couldn’t have asked for a better response.”

Bianca Roman scored her fourth goal of the season just 10½ minutes into the match. The Pioneers got an insurance goal in the 78^th minute when, after a WBU corner kick, the HTU keeper put the ball over the goal line while holding it.

“The entire defense and goalkeeper (Kanade Morita) only gave up one goal the entire road trip and made some incredible individual plays during both games,” Posey said. “The midfield worked both sides of the ball with focus, shutting down opponents and getting into the attack. With only two goals in each game, their combined efforts kept us in the game.

“Our attacking side of the ball created several chances and we were able to capitalize on enough of them to get the wins and keep the opposing defenses honest.”

Wayland was credited with just three shots, compared to 10 for the Lady Rams (1-1), who lost their first game of the season after opening with a 6-2 win over Schreiner on Sept. 3. Morita made five saves. 

The Pioneers have 10 days off before their next match Sept. 23 at home against Jarvis Christian.

“Now we have a few days to rest and prepare for the next game,” Posey said.

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ADA, Okla. – The Belles’ soccer team won their first road match of the season in Oklahoma, defeating East Central 3-1 and improving to 3-0 on the season.  

The Belles applied the pressure early and often, with the visitors taking the first four shots of the game over the opening 20 minutes of the match.  

“The first half was poor for us, we gave the ball away a lot and we were getting frustrated early on,” said head coach Travis McCorkle. “The second half was a lot better for us all-around.”  

The breakthrough for the Belles came in the 36th minutes, when, only two minutes after being substituted onto the pitch, Shaelyn Ward scored her first collegiate goal off an Avery McNeme assist, the senior midfielder’s third of the season.  

McNeme assisted the next Belles goal just two minutes later through Gabby Villagrand, her first of the season.  

The Tigers pulled a goal back right at the half, making it 2-1.  

The Belles only took two minutes into the second half to increase their lead back to two goals, with McNeme scoring her first goal of the season off a Valerie Solis assist. Solis has assisted four times this season, almost doubling her career total entering this season (five).  

“It’s nice to have a player like her [McNeme] who is capable doing that, and I believe she can have that kind of impact every game, which is why I hold her to such a high standard,” said McCorkle. 

Overall, in the match, the Belles outshot the Tigers 21-10, with nine shots on goal for the Belles; additionally, goalkeeper Kira Miller made four saves in goal for the Belles.  

The Belles kept their streak alive of different goal scorers, with ten different players getting on the scoresheet for the Belles’ ten goals.  

“The fact that we’ve had 10 different players scoring goals means it’s great to have variety, and some of that’s happened because of substitutions,” said McCorkle.  

Despite the variety in goal scorers, McCorkle added that “I’d like for someone to take charge up front and say, ‘put me in and I’m gonna make the difference’ and we’re still working on doing that, but I hope that [the variety of goalscorers] turns out to be a good thing for us.” 

The Belles are back in action on Saturday against Southwestern Oklahoma State in Weatherford, Okla. 

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PLAINVIEW – Wayland Baptist set a program record for most goals in a match as the Pioneers overwhelmed Bacone College (Okla.) on Tuesday at Hilliard Field, 14-0.

The Pioneers (2-1) actually broke the goals record in the first half when the pounded out a dozen, breaking the mark of 11 set against Ecclesia College in last season’s opener.

Eight different Pioneers scored, led by Bryan Alfaro with three and Ryan Naidoo, Samba Gnokane, Marco Magnoli and Leonardo Amaral with two each. Magnoli also produced five assists, the lone player with more than a single helper on the day.

A total of 24 Pioneers saw action against Bacone’s outmatched 12-person roster. Wayland rarely lost possession of the ball.

By mutual agreement of both head coaches, the match was halted close to the 70^th minute when the match became official according to NAIA soccer rules.

The Pioneers hit the road for their next three matches, starting Saturday at 1 p.m. against Houston-Victoria.

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TYLER – The University of Texas at Tyler women’s soccer team scored a pair of goals in less than a minute’s time and impressed in their 2021 season opener with a 2-0 win over Harding on Thursday night in Tyler.

Sophomore Reagan Easter redirected a Faith Adje shot on goal attempt with 15 seconds left in the first half to break open a scoreless tie just before the halftime break. Sophomore Sarah Flannelly added to the Patriot lead in less than a minute’s worth of game time as the midfielder doubled the UT Tyler lead with a goal less than 30 seconds into the second half.

The two goals highlighted an otherwise superb season opener for the Patriots, who outshot the Bisons by a 19-to-8 total and managed to put nine of those efforts on goal throughout the contest. Head coach Stefani Webb employed a deep lineup on a scorching hot evening in East Texas, as a total of 19 Patriots saw 25 minutes or more of game action.

Easter’s goal at the 44:45 mark was a product of Adje’s second quality run in a matter of minutes, as the freshman made an immediate impact coming off of the bench in her first collegiate action on Thursday night. Adje beat the defense and put a shot on goal that was saved by the outstretched arms of Harding keeper Michaela Potters, who couldn’t corral the rebound and allowed Easter to make her positioning inside the opposing box count with the finish.

The 1-0 lead for UT Tyler stayed true for less than a minute of game time, as Flannelly caught Harding by surprise and redirected a corner that found the back of the net at the 45:29 mark of the game, less than 30 seconds into the second half. Keeper Camri Cecil kept the clean sheet in-tact for the Patriots from there on, making a pair of saves in the second half to ensure the 2-0 win for the squad.

14 different Patriots recorded shot attempts in the win, including a team-high three from Adje. Two of those three efforts were on goal, also a team high for the Frisco, Texas native.

All nine of the Patriot reserves recorded a shot attempt, seven of which found their way on net.

That depth will bode well for the Patriots as they are set to head to Alexandria, La. on Saturday afternoon for a match-up with LSU-Alexandria at 1 p.m. That match will stand as the second of two non-conference matches for the team leading into Lone Star Conference play, which is set to open up on Sept. 22 at home against Texas A&M International.

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