UTSA sophomore defender Sofia Peters had a cotton ball lodged in her right nostril to stop a bloody nose. Sadie Paul had a walking boot on her right foot as she navigated around on crutches after appearing to twist her ankle on an awkward fall only 14 minutes into the game.

With at least six other players sidelined all or parts of the season with injuries, the UTSA women’s soccer team has resembled a M*A*S*H unit more than a reigning conference champion. But what’s the idiom about underestimating the heart of a champion? The Roadrunners are proving there might be some validity behind it.

Blending its trademark grit and an offense that put its focus more on being persistent and not perfect in its attacking, UTSA snuck past Temple 1-0 on Sunday in an American Conference match at the Park West Complex.

The Roadrunners (7-4-5 overall, 3-3-2 in the American) moved into a tie for fifth place in league competition with two games left. Three weeks ago, they were last in the 11-team conference. The local squad needs only a win — or likely just a draw — to secure one of eight spots into the league’s postseason tournament on Nov. 8-14 at the Premier Sports Campus in Lakewood Ranch, Florida. UTSA concludes the regular season at North Texas on Friday and vs. Florida Atlantic in its home finale on Nov. 3.

“We rarely do things easily,” UTSA coach Derek Pittman joked. “Full credit to Temple. I thought their goalkeeper and some of their defenders cleared some stuff off the line. At the end of the day, we got a call to go our way and finished the penalty. We deserved the three points today. We talk all the time about how we define fun. We define fun by being elite communicators, being elite in our enthusiasm, being elite in our belief, and being elite in competitive toughness. I thought our girls did that.”

Those attributes were invaluable on a day in which UTSA unleashed an offensive barrage that produced 23 shots (13 on target), led by sophomore forward Brooklyn Bailey’s school-record 12 attempts. She eclipsed the previous mark of nine by Simone Boye vs. Idaho in 2012. For nearly 40 minutes, though, the Roadrunners couldn’t put any of their many opportunities into the back of the net. A break came with 4 1/2 minutes left before halftime when Temple defender Jenna Daveler was called for a handball inside of her team’s penalty area on a shot by Bailey, resulting in a penalty kick. VAR (Video Assistant Referee) confirmed the infraction.

Redshirt sophomore midfielder Leah Varela converted on a penalty kick. It was her third made PK this season, with two being game-winners, and the only tally UTSA could slip past Temple goalkeeper Ana Zivkovic, who tallied 11 saves.

“We had a lot of chances, so I knew once we got one in, we could keep the pressure going and going pretty high,” Varela said. “I know I’ve stepped up twice (on penalty kicks) and hit it in, so honestly, what’s one more time?”

With a one-goal advantage, goalkeeper Jasmine Kessler and defenders Aaliyaiah Durden, Peters, Kacey Grahmann and Caroline Pelkofski — who replaced Paul after her injury and earned praise from Pittman for her play — held off Temple (10-5-2, 3-3-2) for the remaining 50 minutes.

“It’s super stressful,” UTSA redshirt sophomore midfielder Olivia Christodoulides said. “Temple’s a great team. We’re up 1-0, so toward the end of the game, we were just trying to control it, get the ball in the corner, not trying to do anything too crazy. I think we all know where we were standing before this game, and we knew that we had to get three points today.”

The Roadrunners, 3-1-1 in their past five contests, earned the all-important three points and celebrated the achievement. In a postgame ceremony, they honored the team’s three seniors — Kessler and defenders Kameron Kloza and Taliyah Spain. Kloza, a LEE High School graduate, and Spain medically retired because of injuries and haven’t played this season.
Kessler, a four-year starter, recorded her third shutout of the season and 19th for her career on Sunday.

“This day was definitely bittersweet,” Kloza said. “It was really fun to get celebrated by my team, and my team got the win, so that’s always a positive. Definitely not how I imagined senior day to turn out for me, but I’m still very grateful to be here with this group and this program. As a little girl, it was my dream to come and play college soccer, make an impact. Never thought I would actually accomplish all of the things that I did, but little Kameron is going crazy right now.

“I tried to get back to play as much as possible, but my body was just not keeping up with my heart and my mind. Definitely very sad knowing I’m never going to step on the field again. It’s definitely something I knew I needed to do, so at the end of the day, I’m content and at peace with the decision.”

terrence@terrencesports.com
X: @sa_terrence1