Box Score RICHARDSON, TX (10.06.11) -- The UT Dallas men's soccer team got a dramatic game-winning goal from sophomore Casey Cooper with just :20 left in regulation Thursday night, holding off upset-minded Texas Lutheran University with a 2-1 American Southwest Conference victory.

Cooper's goal capped off a dominating evening for the Comets, who improved to 7-1-2 and 5-1-1 in conference play; but it didn't come easy.

The sophomore from Scherz, Texas ended a nail-biting evening by finally punching a ball past TLU keeper Brandon Reyes in the final minute of regulation. The Comets had just been awarded their 14th corner kick of the night as the final seconds were ticking away. A serve from the corner came into a crowd of bodies and both Cooper and teammate Michael Darrow got shots blocked away by a swarm of defenders before the ball came back to Cooper and he scored the dramatic goal.

The goal was a heartbreaker for the Bulldogs (0-10, 0-6), who were looking for their first win of the season despite giving up a 33-7 shot advantage to the Comets and putting just two shots on goal.

The Dogs actually scored first in the game and held a 1-0 halftime lead thanks to an unusual "own goal" score 15:36 into the game. A foul against UTD set TLU's Andrew Latiolais up with a free kick about 30 yards out and the TLU player boomed a sharp bending shot toward the UTD goal. The ball ricocheted around several UTD defenders before caroming in off the shoulder of Eric Holland, according to the game referees.

The goal and the halftime deficit then woke up the UTD offense. The Comets stormed out in the second half, posting 23 shots after the break. Five minutes into the second period, sophomore Michael Darrow tied the game up on a rush with teammates Cooper and Robert Lopez, who played a fine game offensively. Cooper fed Lopez, who crossed the ball in front of the net and Darrow punched it in to tie the score, 1-1.

Despite UTD domination, the game looked like it might go into overtime after the Comets had several shots rocket off crossbars, posts and saved 11 times by Reyes and TLU starting keeper Michael Roell. Despite the close game, UTD keeper Steven Nicknish was only called on to make one first-half save.

UTD returns to its home field Saturday afternoon with a 3 pm ASC matchup against Schreiner University.

BOX SCORE