CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The UTSA soccer team (4-2-4, 0-1-1 AMER) secured a crucial conference point on the road and the series landed in its third consecutive draw as the Roadrunners tied Charlotte (5-4-1, 1-1-1 AMER) at Jen Gaber Field on Sunday with a 1-1 result. An Addi O’Kelley goal in the opening minutes pushed the Roadrunners ahead early, but wasn’t enough to secure the full result as UTSA closes its first week of American Conference play.
Chances on goal were tough to come by for both teams in the first half, but the Roadrunners made the most of a foul at the right edge, as redshirt sophomore Leah Varela’s service found sophomore Brooklyn Bailey’s header across to O’Kelley, with the Austin senior whipping the ball across the front post past Harlee Head into the back corner of the net in just the seventh minute. O’Kelley registered her first career goal on the play and Varela delivered her eighth assist of the season to move into a tie for the most assists in a UTSA season.
The 49ers hardly laid down in the tense back-and-forth battle, as a 14th-minute Evie Craven goal was called offsides on review and Charlotte later logged the equalizer after Allie Metcalf’s deflection off the post created Craven’s 31st-minute putback goal.
Through the opening half, the teams combined for just seven total shots with two on-goal attempts apiece.
Both teams maintained their pressure into the second half, but that pressure flipped to the offensive side, racking up seven shots with three blocks and two saves in the first 15 minutes out of the break. As the half wore on, the 49ers created more opportunities and the Roadrunners’ defense rose to the occasion under pressure. Of Charlotte’s 10 second-half shots, six went on target and three more were blocked, including a huge 67th-minute sequence that saw senior goalkeeper Jasmine Kessler stop Kathleen Ngulefac’s initial shot and junior Isabel Peters extinguish Ngulefac’s second effort on the rebound, making way for Varela’s clearance.
In total, Kessler matched her season high at six saves to preserve the 1-1 draw and log a conference point for UTSA on the road. Freshman Dulci Binns paced UTSA with two shots, while O’Kelley and Kacey Grahmann logged on-target attempts.
Goals
UTSA: Addi O’Kelley (7’)
CLT: Evie Craven (31’)
Quoting Coach Derek Pittman
“Extremely proud of our team’s response today after Thursday’s tough loss. Charlotte is a talented team, so we’re happy to come away with a hard-earned point on the road. We showed a lot of fight and resilience, and now we’ll carry that confidence forward, keep pushing and prepare for our next match at home against Rice.”
UP NEXT: The Roadrunners will open a new month with an old Rivalry at home, hosting Rice for the 19th meeting on Oct. 1 at the Park West Athletics Complex – holding the annual Greek Night and Pink Out for Cancer Awareness for the matchup with the Owls. At 3-5-3 (1-2-0 AMER), the Owls fell to Tulsa at home on Sunday, 3-0.
- UTSA -