SAN ANTONIO — UTSA will head north on IH-35 for matches against Abilene Christian and No. 5 North Carolina this weekend at Mike A. Meyers Stadium in Austin. Kickoff against the Wildcats is set for 4:30 p.m. on Friday, while the squad will face the Tar Heels at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday in a match that will be broadcast on Longhorn Network.
The Roadrunners (0-1) are coming off a 2-1 overtime setback against Sam Houston State in last Sunday’s season opener. Lauren Hodgdon got UTSA on the board early in the first half, but the Bearkats knotted the score before halftime and escaped with the game-winner in the extra session.
UTSA never has faced either Abilene Christian (0-2) or North Carolina (2-0). Friday’s contest will be the third for the Roadrunners against a Southland Conference school (including an exhibition contest at Incarnate Word), while the program has only had one other meeting with a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (at Miami [Fla.] on Sept. 21, 2012).
Meanwhile, the Wildcats will look to bounce back after shutout losses at Arizona (4-0) and UTEP (1-0) to start the season. Picked to finish fifth in the Southland, Abilene Christian returns seven starters and 16 letterwinners from last year’s team that went 8-9-2 overall and 5-4-2 in league play. Through two matches this season, the Wildcats have allowed five goals on 40 shots. Lindsey Jones and Baylee Mitchell have logged three shots apiece, while Kelsey Dombrowski has played all 180 minutes in goal and produced 13 saves.
After being picked to finish third in the ACC, North Carolina is off to a 2-0 start and will look to keep its perfect record intact when it takes on Texas on Friday night. The Tar Heels have not allowed a goal through two matches and have only allowed one shot on-goal. The squad is coming off a 7-0 win over Fresno State last Sunday. Annie Kingman leads the way with seven points on a pair of goals and three assists, while Alexa Newfield owns three goals.