ABILENE, Texas — Katieann Lochte gave visiting UTSA an early cushion with two goals in the first 11 minutes and Kaja Skare later added two scores of her own to help lead the Roadrunners to a 4-1 victory at Abilene Christian on Friday night in the season opener for both squads.
Lochte, a Seguin native, and Skare provided all of the offense that UTSA (1-0) would need in the first 27 minutes, while goalie Hannah Weisse made seven saves in the second half to help seal the season-opening win.
Much like they did in last week's exhibition triumph over Incarnate Word, the Roadrunners wasted little time in grabbing the upper hand.
In the seventh minute, Olivia Nicholls' shot was deflected and hit off the goalpost. Lochte collected the rebound and was able to punch a shot past the Wildcats defense and keeper Kelsey Dombrowski for the quick 1-0 advantage. Just four minutes later, the freshman doubled the lead with a booming shot from 30 yards out that beat Dombrowski to the lower left corner of the net.
Skare, who was coming off a hat trick in the exhibition win, got in on the scoring in the 23rd minute when she took a deflection off a free kick and found the back of the net for a 3-0 cushion. Sara Gribbon and Marianne Hernandez were credited with assists on the play.
Nicole Galan assisted Skare's goal just five minutes later, which was another blast from at least 30 yards out. The winner would be the last for the Roadrunners on the night, but the 4-0 advantage was more than enough for goalies Michelle Cole and Weisse and the UTSA defense.
The Wildcats (0-1) broke up the shutout on Shay Johnson's header less than a minute before halftime. However, that would be all the offense that the home squad could manage on the night.
Abilene Christian turned up the pressure in the second half with 13 shots, but Weisse made seven stops to help close out the 4-1 victory.
The Roadrunners will travel to Huntsville for a Sunday matchup with Sam Houston State (0-1). Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
