CONWAY, Ark. – UTSA women’s soccer (5-2) turned in a dominant performance on both ends to secure their second consecutive, claiming their first 2024 road victory on a 3-0 romp over Central Arkansas (0-5) on Sunday at the Bears’ Bill Stephens Complex. Edmond, Oklahoma freshman Addy Johnson paced the Roadrunners 3-Nil victory with a pair early in the first half, while senior Sasjah Dade wrapped up the trio of Roadrunner goals.
After an early stalemate on the offensive end, Johnson put that all to bed in the 37th minute, taking goalkeeper Jasmine Kessler’s free kick up the left side and shooting across UCA’s Lenja Kenstel into the lower right corner for her first career goal and the Roadrunners’ lead. She notched her second goal a mere 75 seconds later, as Michelle Polo got the ball out to Hannah Warnken for the cross, and Johnson lifted a header over Kenstel – recording UTSA’s first brace since Marlee Fray notched a pair on Nov. 6, 2022, in the Conference USA Championship game against Florida Atlantic.
Comfortably leading at the break, Dade added an insurance goal just over 12 minutes into the second half. Striking off Sophie Morrin’s free kick, Dade took advantage of a traffic jam on the right side, slipping a close-range heater past Kajsa Pruner for the 3-0 advantage.
Though the Roadrunners came up short on total possession at 47 percent, UTSA still maintained an 11-9 shot advantage and placed six attempts on target.
The victory keeps UTSA’s series against Central Arkansas in perfect favor to the Roadrunners at 8-0, including a 4-0 record playing in Conway.
In addition to the assist, Kessler was credited with saves on both Bears’ on-goal shots, registering her third solo shutout of the season and moving the sophomore into a tie with Rachel Francis (2006-08) for the third most career solo clean sheets in program history.
Ahead of next week’s conference opener, the Roadrunners are now one of only three American Athletic Conference teams with five wins on the year.
Goals
UTSA: Addy Johnson (37’), Addy Johnson (38’), Sasjah Dade (57’)
UCA: None
Quoting Coach Derek Pittman
“Today was a good win on the road against a difficult opponent. UCA is a quality team that was desperate for a result. Although we started slow, our bench players were the difference-makers today and it was great to see AJ score two fantastic goals to jump-start us. Our aim is always to put in a championship performance and although we fell short of that target, we were able to get a valuable win on the road before our AAC opener on Thursday against UAB.”
UP NEXT: It’s already time to open American Athletic Conference play, with UTSA hosting the UAB Blazers (3-2-1) on Thursday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. in the Roadrunners’ Salute to Educators and Run as One game. The Roadrunners and Blazers battled to a 1-1 draw last season in Birmingham.
- UTSA -