THE RUNDOWN
The No. 1 nationally ranked DBU Women's Soccer team returned home to Patriot Field Tuesday night to face off with Texas Woman's University for the second time this season, in what was the Lone Star Conference regular season finale on University Hill. The Patriots would come away with a 3-0 win on the night and be crowned regular season LSC Divisional Champions.

On another beautiful night in Dallas, the Patriots would come into the game looking for a strong start, and that is exactly what they got. In the 10th minute of the match, Kaci Parks would pick up the ball in the box and find the head of Ashley Merrill who would beat the TWU keeper and find the back of the net to get DBU on the board early. The goal would be Merrill's 15th of the season in just 11 games. The Patriots would continue to see much of the action in the first 45. High speed ball circulation all over the field, especially in the Patriots attacking half, would allow them to create chances amongst each other and control the game.
 
In the second half, DBU would get off to an even better start than they did in the first. 21 seconds into the second 45, Abigail Olmos would slide Kaci Parks through for a one-on-one with the keeper and Parks would place the ball perfectly into the far corner to put the Patriots up 2-0. Six minutes later, DBU would get on the board again; this time with Merrill playing a ball across the six-yard box to the foot of Olmos who would earn the Patriots third and final goal of the night.
 
All game long, the defense for the Patriots was fantastic. The back four for DBU has done a great job all year of being strong defensively, as well as, being incredibly involved in the buildup and attack for DBU when the Patriots are in possession of the ball. Tonight, was no different. Blythe Obar and Gabrielle Heller were excellent in the match ups with the forwards from the Pioneers. Ober and Heller made multiple strong challenges and interceptions that shut down threats from TWU. Summerlyn Heller and Marit Auee were once more solid outside in both their one-on-one matchups and flying forward on the wings to participate in the attack.
 
The midfield for the Patriots did an excellent job of connecting the defensive and the offense. Brittany Eccles followed up the solid performance she put in on Sunday tonight and was once more an absolute engine in the middle of the field. Melissa Jones continues to be solid on the ball, sitting in the 6 spot right in front of the back four and facilitating the possession for DBU.

Overall, Michelle Lenard's side would showed up to make a statement and they did. The Patriots played their way for the full 90 minutes and earned a LSC Divisional Title.

THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
  - This team is incredibly unselfish. Every single player on the field, especially those up front, are committed to not only getting in dangerous areas themselves, but helping their teammates get in those areas as well. Delaney Schmidt, Kaci Parks, Jenna Patterson, Ashley Merrill, and Abigail Olmos have such good chemistry and knowledge of the system that they run that they are able to make runs that open up space for their partners to get open and into dangerous areas of the field.
 
 - Through their first two regular seasons in the LSC, the Patriots have yet to lose a game. In that two-year span of regular season LSC play, DBU is 17-0-2.
 
 - Adrianna Schroeder has had an outstanding first year on University Hill. The Junior transfer from Frisco has been a great addition to this DBU side. Schroeder leads the league in goals against average, is second in shutout's, and second in saves. Schroeder also does an excellent job of keeping the back four in front of her organized and also helps spark build up play with her feet.

HEAD COACH MICHELLE LENARD ON THE PATRIOTS WIN
"Very happy for the team to wrap up with regular season undefeated and with a divisional title. We knew what we needed to do today, and the girls came out ready to play. I thought we played well from back to front and had a very balanced performance. We are excited for the opportunity to compete for a conference title!"

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
3 – All three of the Patriots goal scorers each had three points on the day. Merrill, Parks, and Olmos each had an assist and a goal for a total of three points each.

19.2 – DBU finishes the regular season averaging 19.2 shots per game. That is a big time stat and shows the ability this team has to find attacking chances. For compression, the Patriots have only allowed their opponents an average of 7.3 shots per game.

5 – The Patriots have five total players in double digit point earnings on the year. Merrill, Parks, Schmidt, Auee, and Patterson each have at least 10 points so far this season.

UP NEXT
DBU earned a first-round bye in the LSC Tournament with tonight's win. The Patriots will play the winner of Midwestern State and UT-Tyler on Tuesday, April 6th at Patriot Field.