SAN ANTONIO – For the second consecutive year, the battle of the birds between UTSA soccer (2-2-2) and UIW (2-2) will be played at San Antonio FC’s Toyota Field. The 8,000-seat Northeast San Antonio soccer-only stadium will be the proving ground in Thursday’s 6:30 p.m. Hometown Showdown for Roadrunners, Cardinals and soccer fans across San Antonio. The game will not be broadcast and tickets are available only through the SAFC ticket website and walk-up at the stadium.
Game Theme
It will be UTSA’s Youth Night at SAFC, with youth and school soccer teams across the city invited to bring their squads and cheer on the only NCAA Division I soccer squads in San Antonio women’s soccer. Youth players who attended UTSA camps this year can check their registration e-mail addresses for anthem buddies and ball kid opportunities.
Following the action
The game will not be broadcast, so in person at Toyota Field or following on UTSA Athletics’ LIVE STATS are the only ways to keep up with the Roadrunners and Cardinals in action.
Tickets to Thursday’s Game
General public single-game tickets are only available through the San Antonio FC ticket office and can be purchased on the SAFC ticket website or on site at Toyota Field on game day.
All seating is general admission - Buy UIW vs. UTSA Tickets Here
- General Admission - $12
- UTSA and UIW Students: First 300 to get tickets at the Toyota Field Box Office receive Free Admission.
About the Roadrunners
The Roadrunners are coming off their first road swing of the season, playing at altitude in Colorado and returning to San Antonio with an 0-1-1 record against the challenging defensive Mountain West Conference squads from Colorado State (L, 0-1) and Colorado College (T, 0-0). UTSA’s last time in SATX, the Roadrunners delivered a 1-0 victory over Lamar, with senior midfielder Zoё May delivering the penalty kick gamewinner and receiving American Conference weekly Honorable Mention, while junior Jasmine Kessler snuffed out Lamar’s last second PK for the win and American Goalkeeper of the Week honors on the double-shutout week. Kessler added American Honorable Mention this week from the Colorado swing.
In Colorado, the Roadrunners fired off a combined 25 shots with 11 on goal across the two-game stretch, with senior Izzy Lane taking five shots and redshirt freshman taking three. On the season, UTSA averages 13.0 shots per game with a .423 SOG percentage, led by junior Michelle Polo with 11, Lane with 10 and Varela with nine.
Always the forte for the Roadrunners under eighth-year head coach Derek Pittman, UTSA has allowed just two goals and sits in the upper tier of NCAA defenses, ranking 13th nationally in goals-against-average at 0.33, 10th in save percentage at .929 and 19th in shutout percentage (.667) – leading the American Conference in all three categories. Starting 36 consecutive games between the pipes, Kessler took over as the UTSA career shutouts (13) and draws (8) recordholder off Sunday’s draw at CC. This season, she’s registered 26 saves, which ranks 33rd nationally and atop the American, securing a 0.35 GAA and .929 save percentage.
About the UIW Cardinals
After finishing 8-8-3 last year with a Southland Conference tournament appearance, the Cardinals have only seen four games of action in the third season under Jake Plant, going 2-2 with wins over American foe North Texas (2-1) and Prairie View A&M (5-0), dropping lopsided setbacks to Texas State (0-5) and Tarleton State (1-4). With eight goals scored and 10 goals allowed in four outings, the numbers can be hard to unravel. Coming into Thursday night, the Cardinals average 9.5 shots per game on a .553 SOG percentage, logging a 2.50 GAA and .697 save percentage.
Leading the scoring, junior midfielder Alex Knutson has three goals on a team-high eight shots, while freshman forward Atiana Lara has a pair of goals. Three other Cardinals have a goal apiece and senior midfielder Sinead Duffy has two of UIW’s seven assists. In goal, senior transfer Hannah Alexander has played every minute after starting her career at Alabama and then TCU. Alexander registered 13 saves in the win at North Texas and has 23 stops on the year.
Hometown Showdown Series history
The Roadrunners and Cardinals renewed the eight-year series last year at Toyota Field in the opening week. The Roadrunners lead the series 2-0 after Olivia Alvarez’ 51st-minute penalty kick proved to be the gamewinner as Kessler secured three key saves. A difference in the times, when these teams first met in 2018, UTSA drubbed the Cardinals, 6-0.
UP NEXT: On Sunday, the Roadrunners will face East Texas A&M (formerly Texas A&M-Commerce) at Park West in the first home day game of the season, Family Day/Meep Meep Peeps Day against the Lions kicks off at 1 p.m. in the final non-conference tilt of the season.
- UTSA -