THE RUNDOWN
The No. 6 nationally ranked DBU Women's Soccer team returned home to Patriot Field on Wednesday night to face off with UT-Tyler on Senior Night in a game that would see the Patriots come out on top by a score of 4-1.

On an incredibly windy night, the Patriots (7-0-0) would fight through the elements to secure their 7th straight win of the season. DBU had the wind at their backs the first half; however, it was UT-Tyler who would get on the board first in the 7th minute of the game to see UT-Tyler take the lead. That would be the only chance that Tyler would have on the night while the remainder of the game was dominated by DBU.
 
Throughout the first half, DBU would bombard UT-Tyler with multiple set pieces around the box, as well as, multiple corner kicks from the far side of the field. Inswinger Kaci Parks would take the majority of the corner kicks and would see one curl into the back post in the 20th minute of the game to tie the game up at 1-1, a score line which both sides would take into the break. In the second half, the Patriots would find themselves going head-on into the wind; however, they continued to dominate possession and keep the ball on their half of the field. For many teams, going into a wind like the one these teams had to deal with tonight would hinder their game plan. For this DBU side it did not faze them one bit. DBU did an outstanding job of coming out in the second half, making a couple of adjustments, and moving the ball down the field through beautiful spells of possession.
 
Just four minutes into the second half, Ashley Merrill would continue her now seven game goal streak and find the back of the net for her 10th goal of the year. Merrill's 49th minute goal was a beautifully placed shot that she had to strike across her body. 24 minutes later in the 73rd minute, Merrill would have a dazzling solo run from midfield into the 18 and find the back post again to score her Lone Star Conference leading 11th goal of the year. The Patriots would not stop there, Marit Auee would get on the score with only a few minutes left on the clock to score her 5th goal of the season and to cap off the win for DBU.
 
On a night that was so impacted by the wind, DBU was magnificent in their control of the ball. The defense not only limited the chances of UT-Tyler, but they also played a massive tole in the buildup of play and the possession for the Patriots. In the first half with the wind at their backs, the back four found themselves with lots of time on the ball. They were composed on the ball and smart in their decision-making passes. In the 2nd half when they faced the wind, UT-Tyler would press the back four of DBU high into the Patriots defensive third. Once again, as they have done all year, DBU did a solid job staying true to their style of play and building the ball up out of pressure from the backline. All throughout the game, the outside backs of Summerlyn Heller and Gabrielle Heller did a great job of pushing into the attack for the Patriots and helping create chances in the offensive third of the field.

Melissa Jones and Brittany Eccles put in another standout performance for DBU in the midfield. The duo did a great job disrupting the play for UT-Tyler with multiple interceptions and strong challenges in the middle of the field. The midfield partners also were instrumental in controlling the possession for DBU once again and were solid at staying organized in the midfield. Abigail Olmos, Alondra Olmos, and Delaney Schmidt all put in terrific shifts and were a handful for the defense of UT-Tyler. These three were able to weave in and out of tight spaces multiple times and helped create opportunities for the attackers around them.
 
Once again, this DBU team battled through adversity in coming from behind to put together many solid spells of beautiful soccer to come out of Senior Night with a 4-1 win – a win which describes the character and determination of this Class of 2021. Even though there were challenges, some which they could not control, they dug deep and a found a way to excel.

THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
  - Ashley Merrill continues her historic season in her first year on University Hill. The freshman has now scored in each of the seven games so far and has a total of 11 goals. Merrill's ability to get into good areas and her lethalness in front of frame always her to impact the game in such a dangerous way.
 
 - This senior class has left such a legacy and has had such a tremendous impact on so many big moments for this program. All seven of these girls bring their own unique touch to this DBU team and all are tremendous examples of hard work, dedication, and just simply doing things the right way. They will all continue to have this impact through their remaining time on this roster.
 
 - To continue on the character of this senior class, between the seven of them there are a total of 42 Conference Honor Roll selections. Although non-soccer related, these girls are still college students. Being able to balance the demands of being a student-athlete and to do so in such an excellent way is outstanding. This is just one more thing that demonstrates the type of people these women are.
 
COACH MICHELLE LENARD ON THE PATRIOTS WIN
"The wind tonight was brutal, but the team pushed through the difficult conditions and found a way to earn a great outcome on senior day. It took a while to figure out how to deal with the end-to-end wind, but we made some nice adjustments at halftime and had a much better second half."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
19 – 19 of the Patriots 27 goals on the year have come from freshman. These freshman are honoring their seniors through their play on the field this year and it is showing in the goals they are scoring. This is also something that is encouraging for Patriot fans going forward.

52 – Since they arrived on campus in 2017, these seniors have now won a total of 52 games as Patriots.

7 – Not only are the Patriots now 7-0. The number 7 also is a big number tonight for the seniors on this team. The main talking point tonight as been them and deservedly so – they will truly have a lasting impact on this program for years to come.

UP NEXT
DBU continues their home stand on Saturday, March 20th when they host Abilene Christian University at Patriot Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.