SAN ANTONIO – It was an exhilarating back-and-forth on Thursday night at the UNT Soccer Stadium and the 14th meeting on the pitch between UTSA (6-5-2, 1-3-1 AAC) and North Texas (7-3-3, 3-1-1 AAC) ended in a 2-2 draw that came down to the closing moments despite heart-pounding goals from Kameron Kloza (2’) and Jordan Walker (48’), along with a career-high saves count for Jasmine Kessler (7). It was the first draw in the series that dates back to 2008.
Putting away her second goal and header of the season, Kloza tacked one on the board for the Roadrunners extra quick, taking Sophie Morrin’s serve into the left side like a rocket in the second minute – registering the fastest goal of the season and the earliest score since Sabrina Hillyer’s :32 putback against McNeese in 2023. Playing ahead served the Roadrunners well as the first half set a physical tone with 11 fouls and six cards in the opening half – including an ejection of North Texas head coach John Hedlund with six minutes remaining in the period. Despite a 9-2 UNT shot advantage, the Roadrunners held up the 1-0 lead at the break.
Shortly after half, the Mean Green found the equalizer, as Summer Brown was in just the right spot on a loose ball and bodied a goal off her hip in the 48th minute.
However, the Mean Green’s celebration was short-lived, with UTSA countering just 22 seconds later. Driving the field on the ensuing possession, Morrin popped the ball over to Olivia Alvarez, pushing the ball ahead and wide for Michelle Polo down the left side – placing a high cross for Walker to slice a header past the UNT keeper just inside the left pipe with her first goal of the season.
After making four stops in the first half, Kessler stood tall against Mean Green chances that escaped the midfield battle, collecting three additional saves in the second half – keeping the Roadrunners in front for 37 minutes. However, Emma King stole one back to even the score with a perfectly placed goal from the corner of the 18-yard box in the 85th minute.
Polo and Alvarez took aim on a pair of additional chances to pull back in front, but at the final horn, the 2-2 draw stood.
Kessler’s seven saves represented a career high for the sophomore keeper and the most for UTSA since the 2022 NCAA tournament game against TCU. Kessler bumps up to 83 career saves and is ninth on the career list.
Goals
UTSA: Kameron Kloza (2’), Jordan Walker (48’)
UNT: Summer Brown (48’), Emma King (55’)
Quoting Coach Derek Pittman
"That was a BIG point on the road tonight against the top of the table. Our matches versus UNT are always big rivalry games and we were five minutes from pulling off an even bigger result. But considering how banged up we are at this time, the draw is huge. We will take a lot of confidence home with us and get rested and ready for Tulsa next Thursday at Park West! We hope to see everyone out to support us."
UP NEXT: That’s it for the week on the Roadrunners’ slate, but another key AAC matchup is set for next week, as UTSA hosts Tulsa on Thursday, Oct. 10 in a Pink Out for Greek Night at Park West. The Golden Hurricane dropped a 1-0 decision on Thursday at home to East Carolina.
- UTSA -