SAN ANTONIO – UTSA soccer (2-0) will leave the borders of San Antonio for the first time in the 2024 season on Thursday, traveling to San Marcos to square off with Texas State (0-1) for the second consecutive season. The I-35 Showdown will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff at the Bobcat Soccer Complex.
Following the Action
Thursday’s matchup in San Marcos is set to air live on ESPN+ with Brant Freeman (play-by-play) and Ben Campos (analyst) on the call. Texas State Athletics will also provide Live Stats from the Bobcat Soccer Complex.
About the Roadrunners
Led by seventh-year head coach Derek Pittman, the UTSA Roadrunners are one of just three teams in the American Athletic Conference to open the season with a 2-0 mark – one of only 45 teams in NCAA Division I. UTSA has also kicked off the season at 2-0 in consecutive years for the first time in program history. The trio of goals in victories over Navy and UIW have all arrived from different sources, but in typical UTSA fashion, all three have come off set pieces.
Notching those goals, Memphis transfer Zoë May battled through a scramble and Texas Tech transfer Kameron Kloza smashed a header off Olivia Alvarez and Bri Carrigan assists to defeat Navy (2-1), while the senior, Alvarez beat the keeper with an upper right corner penalty kick blast to down UIW (1-0) in historic crosstown action at San Antonio FC’s Toyota Field.
Now three games deep, the Roadrunners have put 18 players into action and have put an aggressive approach on the pitch, outshooting the opposition 45-11 with 22 on-target shots – a .489 team shooting accuracy. UTSA leads the American Athletic Conference in both shots per game (22.50) and shots on goal per game (11.00), ranking third in the league and 49th nationally with 7.00 corners per outing.
About Texas State
One game away on his third season leading the Bobcats, Steve Holeman has the Bobcats at 0-1 after a 2-1 loss on opening night at AAC school Rice, and is coming off a 9-7-4 season that ended with a 2-1 loss to then-reigning Sun Belt Champion South Alabama. In the loss at Rice, senior defender Anna Dunch broke the shutout in the 88th minute.
Texas State has one big missing piece with the departure of top scorer and offensive MVP, Olivia Wright, who wrapped last season with seven goals and four assists in 20 matches at forward. Number two on the goals chart with four in 2023, sophomore Mady Soumare returns to San Marcos and TXST also retains the services of junior forward Zoe Junior, who scored three goals and tied to top the team assist board last season. From that tie, the Bobcats also get sophomore midfielder Zoe Meza back after a three-goal, four-assist debut season. A 32-goal squad a year ago, TXST also returns three-goal scorers Maya Ulloa and Halle Garcia.
Another key returning component for the Bobcats is Texas State’s Player of the Year, Caitlyn Draper, whose rookie season saw 14 starts with 17 appearances in goal, posting a 1.29 GAA with 66 saves and a .776 save percentage, while collecting five shutouts.
Series history
It's been a see-saw for the series lead since opening in 2006, and Texas State holds a slight 5-4-2 advantage in the I-35 Showdown. However, UTSA snapped a two-game skid last season at Park West on a 1-0 victory via Sophie Morrin’s 21st-minute goal and UTSA notched five saves in the shutout – the Bobcats outshooting UTSA 9-6 in the final stat line. The Roadrunners are 2-3 in San Marcos and are 1-2 in the overall series during the Pittman era. The last trip to TXST was a 1-0 loss in 2018 and the last win in San Marcos was a 2014 overtime triumph, 3-2.
UP NEXT: The Roadrunners will match up for the first time in the regular season with another hometown squad, welcoming St. Mary’s across town to Park West for a Sunday, Aug. 25 meeting and the fans to Rowdy’s Water Park night. Due to recent excessive heat, the game was moved from a day game to a 7 p.m. start at Park West.
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