UTSA women’s head soccer coach Derek Pittman stood near the middle of the field and stared into the distance. It was almost as if Pittman was replaying in his mind what occurred the previous 90 minutes.

And for the most part, what he recalled involved far more good things than bad.

In the game of soccer, though, sometimes that doesn’t matter. A bad bounce here or there can alter the trajectory of a game. The Roadrunners found out the hard way.

Alabama-Birmingham scored two unanswered goals, including the game-winner with about four minutes left, and defeated UTSA 2-1 Thursday in both teams’ American Athletic Conference opener before a crowd of 1,112 at Park West Complex.

Abbey Burns converted on a penalty kick in the 85th minute after UTSA was called for a handball inside the penalty area for the game-winner, her second winning goal in a week. She tallied the lone goal in a 1-0 win vs. Ole Miss on Sept. 5.

“This game is very, very cruel,” Pittman said. “Sometimes we play well, and we lose. Tonight was, unfortunately, one of those nights. UAB is a very good team. They keep the ball well, they’re difficult to break down, they’re patient on the ball. I thought our players were very, very good tonight. They picked the right times to press, they picked the right times to be patient. I thought we showed a lot of discipline and a lot of mental toughness to stay focused for large portions.”

With the Blazers (4-2-1) employing a style predicated on dominating possession of the ball, UTSA (5-3) knew it had to make the most of its opportunities.

“We knew coming into this game, when we got the ball, we were going to have to make something happen,” UTSA senior forward Jordan Walker said. “If we didn’t, we’d be defending for another four or five minutes. Honestly, I think our team does a really good job of adjusting, and we do a lot of scouting beforehand. I think we did really well coming out today and executing the game plan.”

It appeared as if all the work paid off in the 49th minute. Senior midfielder Olivia Alvarez collected a pass from sophomore midfielder Michelle Polo and made a run down a sideline while fending off UAB defender Brielle Rochester. Alvarez sent a pass into the center of the penalty area and freshman forward AJ Johnson headed the ball inside the right post for a 1-0 lead.

It was Johnson’s third goal in the past two games. She scored twice during the Roadrunners’ 3-0 win vs. Central Arkansas on Sept. 8.

“When I come in, I know that I need to be a game-changer and just bring some energy, whether I get five minutes to 15 minutes,” Johnson said.

UTSA’s advantage was short-lived. Less than eight minutes later, UAB capitalized on a foul by the Roadrunners deep in their end of the field, with Maia Sirota putting in a free kick from about 20 yards out.

“I put that on us coaches,” Pittman said. “We didn’t adjust as needed after we went up 1-0. (UAB) made a few tweaks, we didn’t recognize them quickly enough, which caused a little bit of frantic on our team, which gave (UAB) an opportunity to equalize. After that, once we did adjust, I thought we were the better team until the penalty call.”

terrence@terrencesports.com
Twitter: @sa_terrence1