SAN ANTONIO – Taking on its second in-town opponent of the 2024 season in their second game at the Park West Athletics Complex, UTSA (3-1) put away St. Mary’s on Sunday night, 1-0, delivering head coach Derek Pittman’s 100th career win in the process.
The Roadrunners began wearing the Rattlers down from the opening kickoff, using UTSA’s particular brand of aggressive play and constant pressure. Holding up a 58-percent possession advantage in the opening half, the Roadrunners took charge early and got the opportunity to rotate personnel as the game wore on.
The Roadrunners scored through the run of play for the first time this season, as goalkeeper Jasmine Kessler bombed a goal kick on target to Jordan Walker driving up the middle, who flipped the ball ahead to Delaware transfer Izzy lane – beating her defender and the advancing keeper to score her first UTSA goal off the three-touch, seven-second possession in the 18th minute.
After an even 3-3 shooting first half, the Roadrunners leaned into their depth and outshot the Rattlers 10-2 in the second, forcing St. Mary’s into six second half saves for keeper Rebecca Difronzo and the Rattlers’ back line – allowing the final horn to sound with the score still at 1-0 in UTSA’s favor.
UTSA sent 19 players into action, including debut appearances for freshmen Isabel Peters and Lauren Fincher, as well as the first 2024 appearance for Isobel Herrod in goal.
Walker paced the Roadrunners with four shots, while Michelle Polo notched three and Sophie Morrin had a pair. UTSA kept their possession advantage in hand, finishing the night with control 57 percent of the outing.
Following the game, Pittman was recognized for the career milestone with Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Lisa Campos and Deputy Athletic Director Brad Smith joining the Pittman family on the field to present him with a ceremonial ball. He is also just one win away from hitting his 50th at UTSA.
Goals
StMU: None
UTSA: Izzy Lane (18’)
Quoting Coach Derek Pittman
"What I told the team at the end of the night; no matter what, winning is extremely hard. It doesn’t matter who you play, it doesn’t matter what the situation is, we have built this program into a position that we are always going to get everybody’s best. We got St. Mary’s best and they played really hard and made things difficult for us. I was happy we could get the win, get the result and see Izzy Lane score her first goal for us through the run of play. But we also know we’ve got to go back to the drawing board, we’ve got to continue improving. We’ll take the win, happy that it was our 100th. Excited for us to get that result and move on to the next one and give a lot of people some minutes that they haven’t otherwise gotten this season.”
Coach Derek Pittman on the Milestone
"Very grateful and blessed to have coached alongside some incredible assistant coaches. These 100 wins don't happen without their effort and the commitment of all the hard-working players I've been fortunate to coach over the years."
Up Next
Back on the road next week, the Roadrunners will travel to Houston on Thursday for a 7 p.m. kickoff at the Carl Lewis International Complex. The Roadrunners and Cougars faced off in a spring scrimmage and this matchup will mark the third meeting of the Pittman era and the fourth consecutive season with a Big 12 opponent on the schedule.
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