Photo Credit: Vicente Cardenas

Searching for their first win of the season, The UTSA Roadrunners delivered a strong performance in their opening game of the UTSA Classic Tournament on Friday, Aug. 30, defeating the Sam Houston State Bearkats 1-0 at the Park West Athletics Complex. The Roadrunners (1-2) entered the contest having lost their first two games of the season by narrow margins. UTSA produced another close game, but this time it was the opponent that fell just short.

UTSA was able to impose their will early and often in the first half taking twice as many shots as the Bearkats at one point. With the amount of opportunities the Roadrunner offense was creating, netting a goal seemed inevitable. In a frenzied sequence with 16 minutes left in the first half, the Roadrunners got three shots off at point blank range. The first was stopped by Bearkats goalkeeper Kylie Hambleton; the second stuck the near post eliciting gasps of frustration from UTSA fans in attendance. They would not wait long to be satisfied as the rebound off the post was hammered in by UTSA forward Anissa Munson .

Munson refused to take all the credit even though it would go down in the box score as an unassisted goal.

“I feel like my team worked hard to collapse on the goal, some unlucky shots from some of the other girls and I was just there to bang it in,” Munson said.

The second half was marked by the superior midfield and defensive play by the Roadrunners that had kept the Bearkats in check the entire game. Roadrunners’ goalkeeper Bubba Makela was rarely tested having to make only three saves before the game came to an end.

After the game, UTSA Head Coach Steve Ballard gave his thoughts on the importance of his team’s first win.

“For about a year now, we’ve been playing games like this where we have gone on the field and played well, but we’ve lost like eight or nine in a row,” Ballard said. “It wasn’t the prettiest, but the fact is we got it done.”

Coach Ballard made it clear the team has yet to reach its potential and expects bigger things from his squad moving forward.

“We know we can play better, we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, but it just feels good to get a victory,” Ballard Said.

The Roadrunners close tournament play against the Lamar Lady Cardinals on Sunday, Sept. 1 at 1 pm at the Park West Athletics Complex.