LUBBOCK, Texas (March 13, 2021) – It took a full team effort and goals from unlikely players, but Lubbock Christian University was able to bounce back and get a win over UT Tyler 2-1 on Saturday afternoon at the LCU Soccer & Track Complex.
 
The Chaps beat the Patriots for the second time this year, moving to 3-1 on the year and 2-1 in Lone Star Conference play. UTT fell to 1-4-1 on the season and 1-3-1 in league action.
 
 Although the Chaps came out on top, it was UT Tyler who started the game strong offensively, putting three shots – including one on goal, in the first 11 minutes of play. LCU got its first shot in the 17^th minute from Fernando Flores , and it was blocked out of bounds to give the Chaps a corner kick, but they were unable to break through.
 
Corner kicks became a common theme for the Chaps throughout the contest, as they earned a season-high seven against the Patriots. It was the most corner kicks by an LCU team in a single game since they earned nine against UT Permian Basin on Oct. 27,2018.
 
Hector Rodriguez-Cabo put LCU's first shot on goal in the 34^th minute, but it was saved. Four more shots and one more corner were taken by Lubbock Christian in the final 10 minutes of the half, but the two teams went into the break tied at zero.
 
Both squads got early scoring chances in the second half, with Juan Jose Valdez Lopez putting a shot on goal in the 48^th minute and Braxton Thorne saving a Patriot shot in the 49^th. In the 64^th minute, the Chaps finally broke through.
 
UT Tyler committed a foul in the penalty area and eventually argued against it so much they received a yellow card. With Flores, LCU's normal penalty kick taker, subbed out, the duty fell to Rodriguez-Cabo. He converted, beating the keeper in the bottom right corner to give his team a 1-0 lead.
 
The goal was just the second of Rodriguez-Cabo's LCU career and his first since Oct. 12, 2019 against Dallas Baptist. He quickly tried to add a second with a shot on goal in the 71^st minute, but it was saved. Rodriguez-Cabo ended the game with a team-high six shots, three of which were on goal.
 
In the 75^th minute, UTT responded, getting a goal from Brock Barbee to even the score. It was one of just four shots on goal they had all day.
 
LCU nearly retook the lead just six second later, kicking off and pushing right down the field for a shot on goal by Tariq Bakkali, but the UTT keeper made a strong save to stop it.
 
Two minutes later, though, LCU earned another corner kick and this time they made it count. Flores put the ball in and, after a deflection off Agustin Contreras Orsi's thigh, Ivan Muanze-Bengono was able to poke it into the back of the net.
 
UT Tyler put one more shot on goal in the final 10 minutes, and although it was a rocket from just outside the 18-yard box, Thorne made the save, making the goal by Muanze-Bengono the game-winner.
 
It is the Scotland native's second-ever goal in an LCU uniform, with his only other score coming on Oct. 13, 2018 against Rogers State. That goal was also a game-winner.
 
The win was also somewhat of a milestone for Lubbock Christian head coach Paul Gilbert, as he won his 31^st game at the helm of the program. The win ties him with Kyle Beard (for the most all-time by an LCU head coach.
 
The Chaps face a quick turnaround now, as they head to Laredo to face Texas A&M International at 1 p.m. on Tuesday.