THE RUNDOWN
The No. 1 nationally ranked DBU Women's Soccer team welcomed the West Texas A&M Lady Buffs to University Hill for the second time this season Saturday night for a Lone Star Conference semifinal matchup that saw the Patriots win by a score of 4-1.

On an absolutely gorgeous night in Dallas, the Patriots (12-0-1) would see one of their most electric starts of the season, scoring three goals in the opening 14 minutes of play. Delaney Schmidt would open the scoring just six minutes into the match with her 7th goal of the season when she got her head on the end of a perfect left-footed cross from Jenna Patterson. Marit Auee would add the 2nd for the Patriots just three minutes later as she would bounce off of a saved shot to bury the ball into the back of the net to put her side up by two. DBU would continue their excellent start in the 14th minute when freshman Ashley Merrill would rise up to head in a cross from Melissa Jones for her nation leading 17th goal of the year. The Patriots would do a great job throughout the remainder of the first 45, keeping a good amount of possession and would also withstand several offensive spells from the Lady Buffs to keep the lead at 3-0 heading into the break.
 
As the second half began, the Patriots looked to replicate their strong start with another one in the second 45. Just 9 minutes into the half, Schmidt would get her 2nd of the night and 8th of the season to see her side take the 4-0 lead. The Lady Buffs would respond quickly and look to get some offensive momentum going themselves when team leader Hannah Kelley-Lusk netted her 9th of the year to put her side on the board. However, throughout the rest of the game the Patriots maintained possession of the ball and were able to control the tempo and momentum of the game, sparking several more offensive opportunities and staying solid in the back to see the came come to an end with a 4-1 victory.
 
The defensive and midfield units for DBU stood out tonight against one of the top offenses in the conference and the country. Coming into the match, West Texas was averaging nearly 20 shots per game, with more than half of those being on frame. Tonight, the Patriots held them to just 14 and only five being on target, with several of those shots coming from well outside the 18-yard box. In the battles on the wings, Summerlyn Heller and Gabrielle Heller did an excellent job and won multiple battles to keep the Lady Buffs from good offensive chances. Matched up with Kelly-Lusk, Blythe Obar and Marit Auee stepped up to the challenge and allowed the West Texas forward minimal time and space on the ball, putting in multiple strong challenges between the two of them.

Overall, Michelle Lenard's side came out ready to compete in the semifinal and were able to leave Patriot Field with a 4-1 win.

THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
  - The last time that these two sides faced off this season on February 24th, the Lady Buffs outshot DBU 17 to 15, the first of only two teams to do so this season. Tonight, DBU came out determined for that to not be the case. The Patriots would outshoot West Texas 17 to 14, with 10 of DBU's shots being on frame and only five for the Lady Buffs making it between the woodwork.
 
 - Through 13 games, the Patriots have 12 players who have played in enough minutes this season to account for five full games. With three more girls playing in at least three full games worth of minutes, a stat that showcases the depth that this team has and the talent that they have available to them entering a game from the sideline.
 
 - The value of the senior class on this team cannot be understated. Between the six of them, there have been 66 starts this season and all of them seeing action in a combined 86 games. These seniors provide leadership on the field through their play and the minutes they have seen as well as off of the field through the relationships they have built and the women that they are.

HEAD COACH MICHELLE LENARD ON THE PATRIOTS WIN
"We knew it would be important tonight to get a good start on the game and we did. West Texas is a very good team with a lot of dangerous attacking ability, and we wanted to create some margin if we could. I am very pleased with the whole team and how we have continued to handle these pressure moments. I am so happy for the seniors to get to play another conference championship final at home."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
10 – With tonight's win, the Patriots are headed to their 10th straight conference tournament final. Dating back to their Heartland Conference days, DBU has made every conference tournament championship game since 2011.

31 – After finding the back of the net twice tonight, Delaney Schmidt now has 31 career goals as a Patriot.

19.2 – The Patriots are averaging 19.2 shots per game. If this holds, that will be a team record for most shots per game in a single season.

UP NEXT
DBU advances to the final of the Lone Star Conference Tournament and is set to host No. 12 Angelo State University at Patriot Field on Tuesday, April 13th.