SAN ANTONIO – With the preseason out of the way, UTSA kicks off its 2024 season on Thursday, Aug. 15, at Park West, welcoming Navy to San Antonio for Salute to Armed Forces night. Thursday’s 2024 season opener against the Midshipmen kicks off at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+
Game Theme/Promotions
Thursday’s game will be UTSA’s Salute to Armed Forces and will kick off with the colors presented by UTSA's very own Detachment 842 Honor Guard team. Sophomore Hannah Warnken will take the mic for the National Anthem. There will be military recognitions throughout the night. To help fans beat the heat and keep their calendars in mind, UTSA Athletics will be giving away schedule hand fans at the marketing table.
On the Air
Catch the live broadcast from Park West streaming on ESPN+, featuring Karl Schoening (play-by-play) and Katie Goodman (analyst) on the broadcast call.
UTSA Athletics will also provide LIVE STATS from Park West.
About the Roadrunners
The Roadrunners worked through a pair of exhibition outings against Baylor and then Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, shifting the development focus from a defending approach against the Bears to an aggressive attack against the Islanders. Now entering the opener for UTSA’s second season in the American Athletic Conference, the Roadrunners are looking to put it all together with the first regular season opponent, Navy.
The Roadrunners return 14 players from last season’s squad that went 7-7-4 in the inaugural American season. The 2023 Roadrunners were among the top defensive squads in their new league, finishing the regular season with the second-best goals-against-average in The American while ranking 35th in the national stats on a school-record 0.72 GAA. The Roadrunners allowed the second-fewest goals in the league (13) behind only AAC regular season and tournament champion, No. 8 Memphis – a Tigers team that also saw their powerhouse offense stifled when they came to Park West, slipping out of San Antonio with just a 1-0 win. The Roadrunners also tied for third in the AAC with eight (8) shutouts, which also tied for the fourth-most in a UTSA season – in addition to holding the opposition to a single goal in six outings.
With eight seniors graduating, the Roadrunners look to this year’s nine seniors to take the reins. Bringing 39 starts in the past 40 games, senior defender Sasjah Dade provides significant experience to the back line in 2024 – just named to the AAC Watch List for the second consecutive year. Senior defender Haley Lopez is back after starting every game in her first year at UTSA. The most experienced defender for the Roadrunners is AAC Watch List honoree, senior Sabrina Hillyer, who had 59 consecutive starts under her belt. The backs are flanking returning AAC All-Rookie honoree Jasmine Kessler, who set the program’s overall and freshman GAA record at 0.67, allowing just eight goals in 12 contests, registering 37 saves and five clean sheets.
The Roadrunners also retain the services of senior midfielder Jordyn Hyland, who logged one goal and led the team with five assists a year ago. Another on the AAC Watch List, senior midfielder Olivia Alvarez is back after 18 starts in 2023, posting a .476 SOG%. Senior defender Peyton Godbey had a solid spring and returns after nine games of action last year. Sophomore midfielder Michelle Polo scored once last season in 10 games and launched five on-target shots in the TAMU-CC exhibition, putting away the first UTSA score against the Islanders.
Up front, the Roadrunners see senior Jordan Walker return to the lineup after playing in 57 games for UTSA over the last three years – starting 12 in 2023 with three goals and two assists, while delivering a team second-best .565 SOG%. Coming off playing with for Republic of Ireland’s U19 youth national team squad in the UEFA final, sophomore Sophie Morrin will look to build off a rookie season that produced three goals. Senior Maci Geltmeier is back for her second season after playing in 18 games with six starts last year – carrying experience of 69 total games of experience across two programs.
UTSA adds 16 newcomers to the roster, including seven Division I transfers - headlined with some name recognition by Kameron Kloza (Texas Tech), sister of former local UTSA star Kameron Kloza. UTSA also added Addi O’Kelley (Cincinnati), Zoё May (Memphis), Lulie MacFarlane (Memphis), Ava Jackson (Arkansas), Rylee Low (Tarleton) and Izzy Lane (Delaware). True freshmen joining the roster are: Bri Carrigan, Brooke Viccars, Isabella Januario, Kiana Sparrow, Isabel Peters, Allie Allen, Olivia Christodoulides, Lauren Fincher and Addy Johnson.
Looking to keep the trends of Park West success going, UTSA set the program season attendance record (7,002) last year with the second-highest historic average attendance (875) and has earned a 71.2-percent win rate (16-5-5) over the past three seasons.
Series history
This is the first meeting between these teams. This is also UTSA’s first contest with a U.S. military service academy.
Scouting the Midshipmen
Going into the 32nd season under Carin Gabarra, Navy is coming off a 9-7-3 finish in 2023 and will take the field for the first time – having seen no exhibition opponents in the preseason. Scheduled for back-to-back dates with UTSA and Rice, Thursday will start the first trip to Texas for the Midshipmen since 2010. That hasn’t stopped Navy from filling their roster in the Lone Star State, with five players from Texas. Headling the group of in-state players, forward Alexa Riddle is out of Tomball and was just named to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team – having been on one of the league’s end-of-season teams each year of her career. A three-year starter, Riddle was second on the team in goals (4) and third in assists (3) last year, logging 11 points. Also from Arlington, midfielder Rylee Rives saw more minutes than any other player, collecting two goals in 2023. Forward Marlee Heaven also logged four goals and an assist and is back for Navy.
UP NEXT: The Roadrunners are back on the pitch on Sunday for a historic first-ever appearance at Toyota Field, home of San Antonio FC USL professional club. UTSA will face UIW in a cross-town matchup with kickoff slated for 6 p.m. Tickets are available online for $12.
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