UTSA found itself in a precarious position heading into Sunday’s non-conference home soccer match vs. Abilene Christian.

The Roadrunners were fresh off a “statement” win three days earlier and had a showdown with an opponent ranked among the nation’s top 20 teams looming. How they handled the moment, they surmised, could be telling.

Playing like a team that was caught looking back and ahead and not solely in the present, UTSA played to a 1-1 draw vs. Abilene Christian at Park West Complex.

The Roadrunners defeated East Carolina 2-0 in American Athletic Conference action on Sept. 19. They face Memphis, ranked No. 17 in NCAA Division I, on Sept. 26. East Carolina, which was picked in the preseason to finish third in the AAC.

“I do think preparation-wise, we didn’t prepare the way we needed to, and we might’ve come into this game thinking it was going to be an easy win,” UTSA senior defender Sasjah Dade said. “We didn’t keep our momentum going from the ECU game. I think we took this one kind of lightly, just trying to think about Memphis before we even got there. I think it was a setback for us a bit. I think that we had a lot of people that were off today. Just wasn’t our best game.”

The start, however, was exactly what the Roadrunners (6-3-1) could’ve hoped for. Only 17 minutes into the contest, Dade started the scoring sequence with a pass into the penalty area that Abilene Christian goalkeeper Emma Konsmo batted away. UTSA forward Tyler Coker gathered the deflection and got off a shot that was also deflected. The rebound fell to sophomore Lulie MacFarland, who got enough of her right foot on the ball and volleyed it in for her first collegiate goal.

“Obviously, I wanted to score like a banger on my first college goal,” MacFarland said. “It wasn’t the prettiest goal, but it’s in the back of the net. That’s what matters.”

UTSA, though, was unable to sustain the momentum of MacFarland’s goal. The remainder of the first half was defined by sloppy play and miscommunication.

Abilene Christian (2-2-6) capitalized in the 28th minute when forward Peyton Hill ran onto a pass from teammate Raegan Hollis and unleashed a shot that UTSA goalkeeper Jasmine Kessler got a hand on but couldn’t keep out of the goal. Eight minutes later, Hollis got off a shot that Kessler deflected off the crossbar to deny a strong goal-scoring opportunity.

“To be honest with you, we were probably lucky to be only tied 1-1 at halftime,” UTSA coach Derek Pittman said. “I thought arguably one of the poorer first halves we’ve played all season. Players weren’t in the right mindset; weren’t executing. Did not look like the team that pulled off a great win on Thursday night on the road. That’s the frustrating part. I know our players will look at themselves in the mirror and know they’ll need to be better.

“Proud of the response at halftime but we’ve got to do a better job of making sure of starting that way in the first half. If we had done that, the game very much should have and could’ve been different.”

The Roadrunners outshot ACU 8-3 and held a 7-1 advantage on corner kicks over the game’s final hour, but were unable to find the back of the net.

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