UTSA’s American home-opening loss on Friday night came in difficult conditions, as Rice left the Park West Athletics Complex with a 3-0 win in a water-logged matchup.
The game turned quickly after a slow start. Neither team had posted a shot before the 24th minute, but Rice broke through in the 30th minute when Eileen Albers converted a penalty kick. Just a minute later, Sloane Popov added the second goal, and UTSA went into halftime trailing 2-0 without registering a shot.
UTSA’s response after halftime
The Roadrunners did create better chances after the break. Leah Varela and Ava Jackson each produced quality shots in the second half, but Rice goalkeeper Jasmine Kessler made five second-half saves to protect the shutout. UTSA finished with two on-target shots.
Rice added an insurance goal in the 74th minute when Lauren Pickup scored to make it 3-0. The result moved Rice to 4-3-4 overall and 2-2-0 in AMER play, while UTSA fell to 4-5-3 and 0-2-1 in AMER.
What Derek Pittman said
After the match, UTSA coach Derek Pittman said the staff got the preparation wrong this week and that he should have done a better job getting the team ready for what it would face. He added that Rice was always going to be difficult, and said the team would learn from it and get back to showing the character, toughness and grit it tries to build around.
UTSA does not have much time to regroup. The team is scheduled to play South Florida in Tampa next Thursday.
