SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA soccer team (7-6-3, 2-4-2 AAC) heads to the Sunshine State for a consequential American Athletic Conference matchup, traveling to meet the league-leading South Florida Bulls (10-2-3, 5-1-2 AAC) on Thursday, Oct. 24, at Corbett Stadium. Coming off a big Senior Day win for the Roadrunners, conference points are growing crucial with only two league contests left on the slate. Thursday’s game will kick off at 6 p.m. CT and be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Following the Action
Thursday’s conference road matchup with the Bulls will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Ryan Urquhart calling the action. There is also a free non-subscription stream for international viewers. South Florida Athletics will also provide Live Stats from Corbett Stadium.
About the Roadrunners
UTSA is looking to build off a dominant 3-0 victory over Temple on Senior Day last Sunday. The Roadrunners downed the Owls on the strength of goals by Sophie Morrin, Olivia Alvarez and Addy Johnson, complemented by a pair of Tyler Coker assists and another from Johnson. The current goals leader for the Roadrunners, Johnson’s efforts against Temple earned the Edmond, Oklahoma rookie AAC Freshman of the Week for the second time this season. The Roadrunners outshot Temple 21-4 and logged a season-high 11 corners, while holding the Owls to none.
The Roadrunners are 2-3-2 away from home this year, including a 1-1-2 mark in conference play. Ranking fifth in the hot-shooting AAC, the Roadrunners average 14.5 shots (84th NCAA) and 6.88 shots on goal per game (67th NCAA), hitting a league fifth-best .474 SOG%. On the defensive end, UTSA has an .813 goals-against-average for fourth in the AAC and 52nd nationally, posting seven shutouts on the year (.438 SO%). Leading the Roadrunners between the pipes, Jasmine Kessler leads the conference in keeper minutes (1,381) and a has a league fourth-best .847 GAA, and a fourth-best .800 save percentage with 52 on the year.
The Roadrunners are in eighth in the AAC standings with every point counting to secure their spot in the team’s first AAC Championships appearance – the top eight teams are slotted into the bracket for the Nov. 4-10 tournament in Lakewood Ranch, Florida.
About South Florida
Rising to the top of the AAC standings down the back stretch of the conference season, South Florida ties for the top points leader with 16th-ranked Memphis, but lead the overall standings via a 5-1-2 AAC record. The Bulls are on a four-match win streak, their last loss at home to Memphis on Sept. 29, 0-1.
The Bulls fire off a league second-best 17.13 shots per game (34th NCAA), going third in the AAC (29th NCAA) with 7.93 shots on goal per outing – sixth in the league with a .463 SOG%. Leading the effort for USF is a familiar face, former Roadrunner and Swiss senior Anna Sutter, who has seven goals and three assists on the year. Sophomore midfielder Michaela Hill has notched five goals and a team-high five assists, while Georgia Brown and Sadie Sider-Echenberg each have four goals – the quartet helping USF to a league third-best 30 goals in 2024.
Defensively, junior Leire Herraez Gallach is the primary in goal, helping the Bulls to eight combined shutouts with a league-leading (NCAA 7th) 0.44 GAA and the No. 2 AAC (18th NCAA) save percentage at .857.
Series history
The Roadrunners and Bulls are meeting for just the fourth time on Thursday, back-to-back seasons and for the second time in Tampa. So far, all three outings have gone in South Florida’s favor. In last year’s meeting at Park West, a defensive struggle tilted toward the Bulls with a free kick goal seconds before half, as Madison Schwartzenberger found the back of the net on a scramble after missing the header. UTSA had five shots to USF’s four in the one-goal loss in the home finale of the first UTSA season in The American.
UP NEXT: One more at home for the Roadrunners, as UTSA goes consecutive dates with a Florida opponent, hosting Florida Atlantic on Halloween at Park West in the regular-season finale.
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