In recent weeks, the big news around town has been the beginning of UTSA’s football program.

While the football team has been in the forefront, two other teams at UTSA have had their share of exhilarating games.

Both volleyball and soccer are defending Southland Conference champions. In addition, both squads have non-conference schedules this season that are tougher than previous years. On top of that, both teams have spent a lot of time on the road this season.

Soccer has had a rough go of it so far this year. In their first game, Aug. 19 against #17 UC Irvine at the Aggieland invitational, the Roadrunners were nearly able to salvage a tie before Irvine kicked in the winner in the 88th minute.

Two days, later on Aug. 21, the Roadrunners played well for 70 minutes before Fresno State went on an offensive explosion and defeated the Roadrunners 4-0.

The Roadrunners looked to rebound against the SMU Mustangs on Aug. 26, but once again they were blanked, this time by a score of 2-0.

The tough schedule continued as the Roadrunners were run out of Waco on Aug. 28 by Baylor in a 5-1 contest where the Roadrunners held a 1-0 lead before Baylor’s talent took over.

On Sept. 2, the Roadrunners had the privilege of playing the Texas Longhorns in the first sporting event ever to be televised on the Longhorn Network. The Roadrunners again found themselves on the wrong end of the decision, losing 2-0 to the Longhorns.

The Roadrunners finally found the win column on Sept. 6 when they knocked in seven goals in a 7-0 victory at Texas Southern. Having gotten to know the roads of Texas well, the Roadrunners will take the pitch at Roadrunner Field on Friday for the first home game of the year against Prairie View A&M. First kick is scheduled for 7 p.m.

On the court, the UTSA volleyball team has also had a tough opening slate.

Like soccer, volleyball started the season at a tournament in College Station. Volleyball dropped both of their games in the tournament, 3-2 to Creighton and 3-0 to the host-Texas A&M.

One week later, the Roadrunners were in Houston for the Rice Invitational. They dropped their first game to Houston Baptist, 3-2 before knocking off Georgia Tech, 3-1. The Roadrunners closed out the Rice Invitational with a 3-0 loss to the host Rice Owls.

The Roadrunners were able to return home for a game with West Virginia on Sept. 4. The return was good as they knocked off West Virginia 3-0 and then repeated the feat two days later against Prairie View A&M with the same score.

Fresh off two wins at home, the Roadrunners hit the road again. This time it was a trip to Denver for the Pioneers Classic.

The Roadrunners won their first game in the tournament against future conference opponent, Denver, 3-1. The Roadrunners fell to Missouri, 3-2, to close out the first day of the tournament.

On the second day of the tournament, the Roadrunners dropped their first contest against UC Davis 3-0 before salvaging a split in the tournament by defeating Drake, 3-0.

Volleyball returns to the Lone Star state this weekend for the Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational in Austin. Volleyball’s next home game will be Sept. 29 against Sam Houston State at 6:30 p.m.