SAN ANTONIO – A soggy Sunday non-conference finale turned into an offensive bright spot for the UTSA soccer team (4-2-2), which put the finishing touches on the week with a 3-0 victory over visiting East Texas A&M (3-4-0) at the Park West Athletics Complex. Among the eight non-conference contests, UTSA secured a shutout in six outings, maintaining position among the nation’s elite defenses.
After a steadily rainy morning, the first Roadrunners home day game changed gears as the skies opened up just before warmups against ETAMU (formerly Texas A&M-Commerce), leaving the pitch soaked and the ball moving fast. The Roadrunners capitalized on the conditions early, as redshirt freshman forward Ava Jackson put UTSA on the board in just the sixth minute, turning freshman Kennedy Reed’s service off her right foot past goalkeeper Makayla Gonzalez for the early UTSA lead and her first career goal.
The heavy rain kept the shot count down for both teams throughout the first half, but as the weather tapered and eventually stopped, the Roadrunners again moved on the opportunity. In the 75th minute, a long free kick service from redshirt senior Kameron Kloza found senior midfielder Zoё May high in the box, using the momentum to bounce a header into the left side of the net past Gillian McKenzie to give UTSA some more cushion.
With time winding down, the Roadrunners upped their advantage once more, after McKenzie popped a high-arching Maria Reyes shot into the crossbar, and Isabel Peters was at the ready to crash on the ricochet for her first career goal with 89:41 on the clock – sealing off the 3-0 UTSA victory to wrap up non-conference play
Holding up a healthy 57% possession advantage, the Roadrunners bolstered their offensive numbers in the second half, finishing the non-league tilt with 9-of-13 shots on target (69.2%) and seven corners. Jackson had an extremely active day, putting four of a career-high five shots on goal, ahead of eight other Roadrunners with an attempt. Kloza, Reed and Reyes finished with assists for UTSA.
Goals
UTSA: Ava Jackson (6’), Zoё May (75’), Isabel Peters (90’)
ETAMU: None
Quoting Coach Derek Pittman
“Proud of how we started the game. We knew they took a tough result on Thursday, so I was sure their coaching staff would have them up and ready. We talked about how we need to score early and try to put it to bed. I was proud of us for scoring early, but we took our foot off the gas. Disappointed that we didn’t close them out in the first half, but really proud of how we adjusted in the second half. I challenged them to get 10-12 shots in the second half, I challenged them to get four or five corners. We scored off two set pieces in the second half and we were dangerous in a lot of other situations. They carried out the gameplan in the second half, just wish it hadn’t taken so long for us to ultimately get there. Really excited for Ava, Zoё and Izzy P to score goals, and it was big-time to get us another shutout in difficult conditions.”
Up Next
Next week is a new phase of the season for the Roadrunners, who sit at fourth in the conference standings heading into league play. UTSA opens American Conference action on Thursday in Boca Raton at Florida Atlantic (2-5-1), which dropped a 5-0 setback to Florida State on Sunday.
- UTSA -