SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA (4-3-4, 0-2-1 AMER) soccer team heads to South Florida (2-5-3, 0-1-2 AMER) on Thursday looking to notch the first win in the conference column. The Bulls and Roadrunners will square off this week at Corbett Stadium, scheduled for a 6 p.m. CT kickoff streamed on ESPN+.
On the Air and on the Web
Catch the live broadcast from Corbett Stadium streaming on ESPN+ with Joe Dee and Jordyn Listro on the broadcast call.
South Florida Athletics will also provide LIVE STATS from Tampa.
About the Roadrunners
After a hot unbeaten start to the season, the Roadrunners are looking to add the first conference win after falling to Rice last week. UTSA enters the week at 4-3-4 and 0-2-1 in league play, looking to get hot again on offense with averages of 1.6 goals, 14.1 shots and 6.2 shots on goal per game, averaging .439 on goal as a team. Pacing the shooting effort, sophomore Brooklyn Bailey is sixth in the conference with 3.1 shots per game on a team-high 34 shots, with redshirt sophomore Leah Varela aiding the offensive effort with an NCAA third-best 0.73 assists per game – tying the single-season assist record at eight. Bailey ties with redshirt sophomore Ava Jackson with three goals apiece to lead the Roadrunners, while Sofia Peters, Dulci Binns and Lilli Denhardt each have a pair. Coming off the Rice game, UTSA defensively sits at fifth in the American on a 1.27 goals-against-average, setting a .736 save percentage with 39 saves – paced by senior Jasmine Kessler, who is expected to start her 64th consecutive game between the pipes at 33rd among active NCAA leaders on a 0.92 career GAA.
About the South Florida Bulls
The Bulls saw a slow start to the season and come in at 2-5-3, 0-1-2 in conference after starting league play with back-to-back 1-1 draws against North Texas and Memphis, before suffering a 3-0 setback at Florida Atlantic last Thursday. South Florida has been more limited on offense this season, with 1.1 goals, 10.2 shots and 4.7 shots on goal per game, going .461 on goal as a team. Junior forward Sophia Cabral has three goals to lead the Bulls, making the most of an 8-of-13 (.615 SOG%) attack. Among a total of seven scorers for USF, freshman McKenna Battilla and redshirt junior Reese Rupe each have a pair of goals. Topping the assists effort, junior Yui Suetsugu has three on the year. Defensively, the Bulls rate 11th in the league with 2.1 GAA after allowing multiple scores in six outings this year. Though the Bulls have used three goalkeepers, redshirt sophomore Gaby Rourke has the biggest chunk of minutes in goal, but has also taken some of the biggest scoring hits – holding a 2.50 GAA with a .678 save percentage and 40 saves in eight appearances.
Series history
Last time around was a historic one for UTSA, as the Roadrunners snapped a shutout in the series with a 2-1 victory over USF last season at Park West. Michelle Polo scored for the Roadrunners just before half and UTSA tacked on an insurance goal from Kameron Kloza in the 78th minute. Coming down the stretch, Selma Åström netted one for the Bulls in the 83rd minute with a header from the right side, but it proved to be too little, too late as UTSA notched its first series win. The Roadrunners trail 4-1 in the series and are 0-2 in Tampa, taking 1-0 losses in the previous two trips to Corbett.
UP NEXT: Coming off the road against the Bulls, UTSA will head back to Park West to face off with the current league leader, as UAB visits UTSA on Sunday at 1 p.m. for the Roadrunners Bark at the Park West.
- UTSA -