THE RUNDOWN
The DBU Women's Soccer team opened up conference with a toughly fought 2-1 overtime win over West Texas A&M Wednesday afternoon at Patriot Field.

The Patriots (2-0-0) faced a strong Lady Buffs side on University Hill in a match that went back and forth for the majority of the game. West Texas A&M started the game off well and used their front line to pin the Patriots in their defensive third of the field. The Lady Buffs were able to get several quick shots on target and handed Adrianna Schroeder her first true tests of the year. Schroeder stood up to the challenge and made the first saves of her young Patriot career and finished the game with eight on the day.

Although the Lady Buffs maintained their high press against DBU, the backline did an excellent job being composed and staying true to the style of play the Patriots pride themselves in – keeping possession of the ball. The Patriots were able to play out of pressure multiple times which helped them dictate the pace of the game throughout the first half.

Around the 25th minute, Michelle Lenard rotated Kaleigh Nazier into to mix and altered the Patriot formation just a bit. This change allowed DBU to get more players higher up the field which saw the Patriot offense come to life. The backline for West Texas A&M was able to withstand the pressure and see the first half come to a close at 0-0.

Lady Buff players Hannah Kelly-Lusk and Asha James were solid for West Texas going forward throughout the whole game; however, the backline of the Patriots did an excellent job staying organized and compact which saw their chances limited. The center back duo in Gabrielle Heller and Marit Auee did well keeping up with the pace of West Texas and put in multiple strong challenges. Summerlyn Heller was also strong in many one-on-one situations that she found herself in on the wings, helping minimize the chances that the front runners for West Texas were able to have.

Senior Kaci Parks played multiple roles for the Patriots today as she slid into the 8 spot and helped run the midfield for DBU. Ashley Perez saw significant minutes and did well on the outside for the Patriots, covering the full length of the field for DBU on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Delaney Schmidt was another player who was very active on both ends of the ball today seeing action as both a winger and an outside back.

In the 61st minute the Patriots were able to get on the board when Jenna Patterson's corner found the head of Ashley Merrill. The Lady Buffs would respond in the 88th minute with a beautifully struck volley from outside back Mandy Stricker.

Just three minutes into overtime, the Patriots were able to find the back of the net as Merrill was able to get on the end of a perfectly placed set piece from Parks. Merrill's 5th goal in just two games would see the Patriots win with the Golden Goal.

THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
  - Ashley Merrill becomes the only player in DBU history to have five goals through her first two games.

 - Senior's Melissa Jones and Brittany Eccles controlled the midfield throughout the game today and will look to use their veteran presence going forward throughout conference for the Patriots.

 - This was DBU's first overtime win (outside of the NCCAA tournament) since November 3rd of 2019, when they knocked off Angelo State 3-2 at Patriot Field.
 
COACH MICHELLE LENARD ON THE PATRIOTS OVERTIME WIN
"That was a very tough game where we were stretched and challenged on many levels. WT is a very strong team with multiple offensive weapons. I am very happy with how resilient our team was today.
 
We had to make numerous changes throughout the match to deal with key match-ups and a couple of injuries. The girls stay focused and determined despite the chaos. We really had to work for that win today and I am pleased with how we responded."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
172 – Today's victory gives Coach Lenard her 172nd win in charge of the Patriots.
 
2 – 2 changes were made in the Starting XI today for DBU since their last time out against Harding, with Gabrielle Heller and Abigail Olmos getting the start.

5 – This Patriots roster proved once again how deep and versatile they are, with five players coming in off the bench and seeing significant action.

UP NEXT
DBU heads to Commerce, Texas, to face Texas A&M-Commerce this Saturday, February 27th. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m.