SAN ANTONIO – Things heated up late in UTSA soccer’s (2-1-1) Sunday victory over Lamar (0-3-0) in front of the seventh-largest Park West Athletics Complex crowd of 925. After the deadlock swept into the final 10 minutes, Zoë May secured the penalty kick gamewinner and Jasmine Kessler shot down the Cardinals’ attempt at a draw in the final second.
Although UTSA maintained the upper hand offensively throughout Sunday night’s contest, the Roadrunners couldn’t plant a shot in the net through the run of play. Redshirt senior Kameron Kloza came as close as any, firing a saved header off a corner in the 60th minute, only stopped by a well-placed Lamar position player.
With time ticking away on the opportunity to close the four-game homestand with a second consecutive win, freshman Brooklyn Bailey was fouled in the box. Eighth-year head coach Derek Pittman placed his trust in his senior defensive midfielder, May, who fired an 81st-minute rocket off her right foot to beat Lamar goalkeeper Eloise Bywater to the right side of the net on the penalty kick.
With time expiring and the Roadrunners’ win seemingly in hand, a UTSA penalty left 89:59 on the clock and a Cardinal penalty kick from Annika Kassenbrock. UTSA’s experienced junior keeper, Kessler snuffed out the attempt to maintain the victory and secure her 14th career win – where she’s third in UTSA’s career records.
On the night, UTSA outshot Lamar 17-10, ringing up five on-target shots in the second half. The Cardinals matched that effort, but Kessler registered six saves for her second solo (third overall) clean sheet of the season – bringing her into a tie with Dacia Webb (2009-11) and Jil Schneider (2019-22) for the UTSA career shutouts record at 12.
May and freshman Emelie Ekman paced the Roadrunners with three shots apiece, while rookie Kamryn Watson notched two attempts, both on target for her birthday performance.
Goals
UTSA: Zoë May (81’)
LU: None
Quoting Coach Derek Pittman
“We knew that Lamar was going to be extremely difficult. They came in on rested legs, not playing on Thursday while we played a difficult game. We knew we were going to be up against it and I thought that showed in the first half where we weren’t locked in. After we made adjustments at halftime defensively and in our rotations, I thought the players did a much better job of getting on the front foot and putting them under pressure to find a way to get the result in the end. Really proud of Zoë for stepping up and saying ‘I want this opportunity’ and burying it, doing what’s best for the team. I let her ultimately decide who wanted it in the moment and she went out and did a great job. Nothing like a nervy last-second penalty call and Jasmine Kessler doing Jasmine Kessler things and keeping the shutout. I’m really proud of her for standing up in that critical moment.”
Up Next
UTSA will hit the road for the first time in the 2025 campaign, traveling to the Centennial State for a pair of games in the upcoming week at Mountain West foes. UTSA will travel to Fort Collins to meet Colorado State on Thursday night, then wrap the trip in Colorado Springs at Colorado College on Sunday for the Roadrunners’ first day game. UTSA will next play in San Antonio on Sept. 4 with the Hometown Showdown against UIW at Toyota Field.
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