SAN ANTONIO – After defeating Texas State in its first exhibition action, UTSA will wrap its two-game exhibition slate this Sunday, August 14, as they host the Baylor Bears. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
UTSA's second exhibition contest comes before the regular season opener this coming Thursday, August 18, when the Roadrunners will play host to Houston Baptist.
The Bears will enter Sunday's contest with an exhibition game of their own under their belts. Baylor is scheduled to host the LSU Tigers tonight, August 11, before heading to the Alamo City.
Earlier this week, UTSA unofficially kicked off its season by hosting the Texas State Bobcats in an exhibition match. The Roadrunners would go on to beat the Bobcats 3-2 thanks to goals from Kendall Kloza (3'), Abby Kassal (20') and Sarina Russ (72').
Not only did UTSA have three different Roadrunners log goals, but three other Roadrunners also logged assists. Lexi Bolton, Alissa Stewart and Kiran Singh had perfect setups to spark UTSA's offense.
The exhibition game proved crucial for the Roadrunners, as it allowed them to play 26 of their 31 players. Newcomers and returning players were able to get back on the field and continue their preparation for August 18th's season opener.
Leading the Roadrunners
The Roadrunners return 10 starters from its best team in school history as well as 12 other letter winners. UTSA will work to replace one of the best to ever don a Roadrunner uniform in Ellis Patterson, but the pieces are there.
Kloza, a co-captain, is back after earning Second-Team All-Conference USA recognition last year and is primed to lead the UTSA defense again. Also back is freshman phenom Anna Sutter who also earned Second Team All-Conference USA as well as All-Freshman recognition last year. Despite missing a third of the season to injury, Sutter led the Roadrunners in goals (7) and game-winning goals (3).
Also back are fellow defensive stalwarts Deja Sandoval and Sabrina Hillyer who were crucial in helping UTSA allow the fourth-fewest goals in C-USA. Among the other returners are goalkeeper Jil Schneider and midfielder Alissa Stewart, both of whom were named to the Conference USA All-Academic Second Team. Schneider broke the school record for most shutouts in a season with eight. Other returning starters include Sarina Russ, Alex Granville, Kiran Singh and Sasjah Dade.
Not only is UTSA returning 10 starters, but it is also returning experience and depth on its bench. Isa Hernandez (co-captain), Lexi Bolton and Abby Kassal are all in at least their fifth year of schooling and have been key contributors to the Roadrunners' success over the years.
UTSA also has plenty of talent coming in via high school or the transfer portal. Mia Krusinski, a goalkeeper transfer from FGCU, was named to the All-Freshman team in the ASUN and will provide great competition in the net. Avery Chaney, a midfielder and Texas Tech transfer, comes to UTSA after two years with the Red Raiders where she made three starts. Also transferring in are two Arlington, Texas natives, Olivia Alvarez and Savannah Powell. Alvarez last played for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi where she spent two seasons and Powell comes to UTSA from Prairie View A&M after one year with the Black Panthers.
The Roadrunners are also bringing in a quintet of freshmen as they look to build off of their best season ever. Three of the incoming freshman, Victoria Arenivas, Presley Drawe and Kaylee Reithmann, are Texas natives with Drawe and Reithmann having attended high school here in San Antonio. Freshman Kendall Gouner is now the fourth player on the roster that hails from Colorado and fellow freshman Irish Miles hails from South Carolina.
Series history
The Bears lead the all-time series against UTSA, having never lost and holding a 9-0-1 record. The Bears will meet the Roadrunners in San Antonio for the fifth time in the two teams' history which dates back to 2006. In the last meeting between the two Texas squads, Baylor defeated UTSA 1-0.
Scouting Baylor
The Bears are coming off an 8-5-6 season which saw Baylor claim the number three seed in the Big 12 conference tournament. The Bears return seven contributing starters from last year and are led by junior forward Mackenzie Anthony. Last season Anthony produced eight goals for the Bears and scored a team-high 19 points.
Baylor also returns two Second-Team All-Big 12 selections in defender Kayley Ables and forward Taylor Moon. Moon and Ables played and started in every game last season and were pivotal pieces to a Baylor squad that exceeded expectations as they were picked to finish seventh in the preseason poll.
UP NEXT: UTSA will return to Park West this Thursday, August 18, to host the Houston Baptist Huskies in its regular season home-opener. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be streamed on CUSA.tv.
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