SAN ANTONIO – It’s back to the road for the UTSA soccer team (4-2-1) on Sunday, as the Roadrunners travel east to Nocogdoches, Texas, to face Stephen F. Austin (1-6) at the SFA Soccer Field – AKA The Chopping Block. With a moved-up kickoff of 12 p.m., the game’s broadcast is slated for ESPN+.
Broadcast and Live Stats
- Sunday afternoon’s game will air at 12 p.m. on ESPN+ for subscribers.
- SFA live stats can be found via SFAJacks.com.
Catching up with the Roadrunners
Coming off a challenging road trip out west that saw the Roadrunners fall in a 2-0 loss at Grand Canyon and take a 0-0 draw at Cal Baptist, the UTSA offense let loose against Texas A&M-Commerce on Thursday. The Roadrunners went to work with laser-like precision, assuming a 2-0 lead after only three minutes of play on a career-first goal from Alex Granville and the first of the season from Olivia Alvarez via a penalty kick. Sabrina Hillyer added a third at 17 minutes and UTSA induced a Commerce own goal. After lighting up the scoreboard in the first half, the Roadrunners couldn’t grow their advantage in the second half on five additional shots. Commerce trimmed the advantage by one with a penalty-range indirect free kick, but UTSA ran away with the 4-1 win, extending their perfect record at home to four.
In his sixth season at UTSA, head coach Derek Pittman is 43-37-13 (.532) and has a 94-104-31 (.478) record in his 13-year career.
Firing Away
UTSA ranks fifth among American Athletic Conference schools at 13.71 shots per game and sixth with 6.00 shots on target per outing. Leading the way for UTSA, Hillyer has recorded 14 shots with seven on goal and a .500 SOG%, topping the team in scoring with six points off two goals and two assists. Forward/midfielder Jordan Walker has 10 of the Roadrunners’ shots with five on target, a 500 SOG% and one goal to her name. Grad-transfer forward Maci Geltmeier has put up eight shots, fifth year forward Alissa Stewart and freshman Maddie Reynolds both have seven. In total, 18 Roadrunners have recorded a shot, with 17 logging a kick on target.
Overall, through six games, the Roadrunners are outshooting the opposition 96-55 with a 42-26 advantage on target. As a team, UTSA holds a .438 SOG% with 12 goals on the year, balanced off six for their opponents.
The Roadrunners rank 87th nationally and fourth in their league for points per game at 5.71, boasting the fourth-best scoring offense (1.71 goals per game) in The American.
Setting the Stage
UTSA has proved strong in sharing the ball well this season, ranking second in the American Athletic Conference in total assists at 16 – coming in at 29th nationally. Per game, UTSA’s 2.29 apg is third in the AAC and 43rd in the NCAA. Pacing the Roadrunners, Granville and Jordyn Hyland tie for third in the AAC and 59th nationally, while Granville is 115th in the NCAA and fifth in the AAC with 0.43 apg.
How Sweet a Home
The Roadrunners are setting the standard for delivering at home, but have seen an 0-2-1 mark this season away from the Park West Athletics Complex, while the first road victory has proven elusive so far. Including their 4-1 win over Commerce, UTSA is 4-0 on the season at home and picked up their eighth consecutive home victory against the Lions. Dating back to the 2021 season, the Roadrunners have racked up a 16-2-4 record at Park West and are delivering a phenomenal 81.8 winning percentage at home. This season, UTSA has also outscored the inbound opposition, 12-2, while outshooting visiting teams 68-5 at Park West.
Series history
After defeating SFA last season at Park West, 4-2, UTSA inched the series forward a little from their historic disadvantage against the old Southland Conference foe. Dating back to UTSA’s first season in 2006, Stephen F. Austin leads the series 6-3-3. Last year in San Antonio, now-departed Roadrunners Kendall Kloza and Ariana Gomez put up one apiece, while Stewart and Marlee Fray added another pair. SFA’s Jamie Bailey scored first at the 40th minute, but Fray evened the score just over three minutes later off a free kick. UTSA pulled ahead, but the Lumberjacks evened it again. Kloza notched the game-winner and Stewart added the insurance in the 82nd minute.
UTSA is 2-2 against SFA in Nacogdoches, dropping the last road trip 3-2 in 2016. Before that, the last trip to SFA ended in an 0-2 loss in 2011. The first two trips east were Roadrunner wins in 2006 (2-1) and 2008 (3-1).
Scouting the 'Jacks
SFA comes into Sunday’s game amidst a five-game losing streak and do not have a win at home this season. The Lumberjacks are coming off a 7-0 drubbing at No. 17 Texas in Austin. Taking on a tough schedule that has included three Big 12 foes, a Sun Belt and an AAC foe, the 'Jacks’ lone win came at American Athletic Conference opponent Tulsa, 1-0, in their second outing of the year.
Outscored 21-3 over the past seven games, the opposition has commanded a 116-85 shot differential this season. SFA is putting up 12.1 shots per contest, notching an average of 4.3 shots on target and a .353 SOG%. Registering goals for SFA are sophomore midfielder Morgan Donohue and freshman defender Caelynn January – the third a result of a Tulsa own goal. However, Donohue has just four shots to January’s eight. Leading the attack to date are via a pair of junior forwards; Jayme Bailey with 11 shots and Lily Hargroe with 10.
In the net, junior Lydia Sattler has all seven starts, collecting 29 saves in 606 minutes, seeing a 3.11 GAA and .580 save percentage so far this season. Last year, she had 73 saves for a .689 save percentage, but with a 2.20 GAA.
In four seasons since arriving from Iowa State, Tony Minatta has an SFA record of 27-31-5 (.468). He is 60-103-11 (.376) in his 10-year career.
UP NEXT: The Roadrunners won’t be back at Park West for another 11 days, but next week is a momentous one on the schedule. UTSA will head to Tulsa (1-6) for its inaugural American Athletic Conference tilt on Thursday, returning to Texas for the second Big 12 matchup of the year on Sunday at Baylor (3-2-1).
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