SAN ANTONIO – Facing one of the American Athletic Conference’s top outfits for the third consecutive game, UTSA soccer (6-5-1, 1-3 AAC) heads up I-35 for a Thursday-night face-off with North Texas (7-3-2, 3-1 AAC) at the UNT Soccer Stadium. A key matchup with a Mean Green squad tied for the top points slot in the league, kickoff is set for 7 p.m. with a broadcast on ESPN+.
Following the Action
Thursday’s American Athletic Conference matchup at the UNT Soccer Stadium will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Kyle Youmans (play-by-play) and Laura Sadler (analyst) calling the action. North Texas Athletics will also provide Live Stats.
About the Roadrunners
Taking on a pair of the league’s top teams on back-to-back dates, UTSA is looking to bounce back from the first consecutive losses of the season after falling at then-No. 17 Memphis and at home to Rice – which is now receiving national votes. Both matchups were defensive standoffs that ended in just a 1-0 result as UTSA is among the top defensive squads in the AAC. The Roadrunners rank third in the AAC and 48th nationally with a 0.750 goals-against-average and an AAC second-best (60th NCAA) .820 save percentage. UTSA also has five shutouts on the season, most recently blanking East Carolina (2-0) on the road.
Led by freshman Addy Johnson (3) and sophomore Tyler Coker (2), nine different Roadrunners have scored a goal, while 10 players have doled out an assist – the effort headed up by sophomore Michelle Polo (3) and senior Jordan Walker (3). Coker’s two game-winning goals ranks fourth in the AAC and 67th nationally. Registering the fourth-most AAC saves at 39, sophomore goalkeeper Jasmine Kessler ranks third in the conference (81st NCAA) with an .813 save percentage and third (61st NCAA) with a .783 GAA in a league second-most 1,035 minutes. Surmounting last season’s total (39) in an equal game count (12), Kessler now has 76 career saves and moves into ninth in the UTSA career records.
About North Texas
A familiar power from UTSA’s Conference USA days led by 30th-year head coach John Hedlund, the Mean Green just carried their head coach to his 400th career win and appear on track to the program’s 27th 10-win season in his tenure – however, the Roadrunners are focused on delaying that milestone.
So far, the Mean Green have league wins over Florida Atlantic (1-0), Tulsa (3-1) and Temple (6-0), but are fresh off a 3-0 loss at East Carolina on Sunday. The AAC’s leader in corners (7.75), goal differential (22), shots per game (24.50), SOG per game (11.42), and shutout percentage (.583), North Texas is a formidable opponent in all facets. Though big wins against Prairie View A&M and Temple skew the stats, UNT leads the AAC with 31 goals, paced by grad forward Rachel Roebuck and freshman forward Claire Niedermeier – each with seven goals apiece. Aiding the effort, sophomore forward Alexis Miller has seven assists and an AAC-leading (15th NCAA) .58 per game. Roebuck chips in five assists of her own, in addition to five from sophomore midfielder Mia Bernard. Between the pipes, grad GK Maddie Ogden has five shutouts, 25 saves, a .800 GAA and a .735 save percentage in her second season in Denton.
Series history
With proximity and a rivalry vibe between these schools, they are meeting for the 14th time in this series – the Mean Green holding an 8-5 edge and a 5-1 advantage in Denton. They have only played one time when not in the same conference (2008). After UTSA defeated UNT in the 2022 Conference USA Tournament en route to the tournament championship, North Texas came away with a 2-0 win last year at Park West on goals by Summer Brown and Ogden.
UP NEXT: With no Sunday matchup this week, UTSA will be back at Park West next Thursday for a Pink Out on Greek Night against Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane are 5-5-2 (1-2 AAC) with East Carolina coming to Tulsa on Thursday.
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