UTSA senior midfielder Michelle Polo received her flowers, literally and figuratively. She posed for photos with family, coaches, staff and teammates. She shared hugs and smiles.

This is the pomp and circumstance of senior day — an occasion set aside to say thanks and goodbye at the same time. Through the emotions of Oct. 26 — scoring a goal in her final home match and the flood of three seasons of memories — Polo was retrospective. She was graduating early and planning to pursue a professional soccer career abroad. She worried, with the Roadrunners sporting a young and talented roster, that she might lament foregoing a final season of eligibility before the going truly got good.

On Monday afternoon, in a conference room at Park West Complex, only a short distance from where she scored a goal in the regular-season home finale vs. East Carolina, Polo was provided with the answer.

UTSA, the American Athletic Conference postseason tournament champion, learned it will play Texas Tech in the opening round of the NCAA Division I championships at 6 p.m. Friday at John Walker Complex in Lubbock. It is the Roadrunners’ second appearance in the event in four years and third overall in 20 seasons. They also made it in 2022 and 2010.

“We’re not at the end, but it’s the greatest coming-to-the-end that I could have ever asked for,” Polo said. “It’s everyone’s dream to be a conference champion, especially not having been to the conference tournament the past two years. It’s been pretty disappointing not to even get a chance, and to come all the way, it’s been like a dream come true. It’s so nice to have that recognition. We’ve always been underdogs, especially this whole season. We had people projecting us to be at the bottom.”

The perceived slight fueled the Roadrunners (10-5-6) all season, helping them to record a school-record nine-match unbeaten streak at one point and recover from a late-season three-match losing streak. They knocked off Alabama-Birmingham 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the AAC tournament, nationally-ranked Memphis in penalty kicks after rallying from a 3-1 deficit in the final 5 1/2 minutes of regulation in the semifinals, and Rice 1-0 in overtime in the championship match.

“I think this team right now has a certain level of belief that they can go out there and get the job done, no matter who we play,” UTSA coach Derek Pittman said. “We showed that against Memphis. We showed it against TCU. We showed it against Houston; even vs. Texas in the exhibition. This group’s been up against it.”

The Roadrunners have been up against it by design. Pittman scheduled non-conference encounters vs. TCU and Houston and exhibitions vs. defending SEC champion Texas to help them get over the hump after missing out on advancing to the conference tournament in 2023 and 2024 by small margins.

“The feeling does stick with you when you don’t make it and you see all the other teams going, and all the joy that tournament play brings them,” UTSA senior captain Zoe May said. “I feel like the program here is all about the culture and the love that we have for each other. Even when we were in Florida (for the conference tournament), the whole time we talked about ‘we’re going to win.’

terrence@terrencesports.com
Twitter: @sa_terrence1