For much of the American Athletic Conference women’s soccer season, the question surrounding UTSA was largely about when and not if.

The Roadrunners, paced by a school-record nine-match unbeaten streak, sat near the top of the standings as recently as a week ago. Earning a spot in the conference’s postseason tournament was pretty much a foregone conclusion.

But a late three-game swoon, including a 2-1 setback to East Carolina on Sunday in the home finale at Park West Complex, had UTSA pondering whether its fate would again come down to the wire.

The examination of potential outcomes and tiebreakers eventually gave way to “if” turning into “when” on Sunday evening. The Roadrunners (7-5-5, 3-3-3 in AAC) learned they had earned a bid to the AAC tournament on Nov. 3-9 in Lakewood Ranch, Florida. They conclude the regular season at Temple on Thursday, and the result will figure in the team’s seeding in its first appearance at the tournament during its three seasons in the league.

“We wanted to be able to tell the team as soon as possible so that they could kind of breathe a little bit,” said UTSA coach Derek Pittman, who was preparing to attend a music concert with his wife when he found out his club had secured a spot. “Now we can tick that box — we accomplished that goal. It’s a huge monkey off their backs.”

The albatross of missing out on advancing to postseason play by the slimmest margins was present on Sunday afternoon after the Roadrunners fell to East Carolina. On a day set aside to honor seniors Haley Lopez, Izzy Lane, Rylee Miller, Zoe May and Michelle Polo (a junior who is graduating early), UTSA was stung by two defensive lapses and two officiating rulings.

The former led to East Carolina’s two goals. In the 80th minute, Isabella Gutierrez intercepted a pass near midfield and lofted a shot over UTSA goalkeeper Jasmine Kessler, who was caught off her line, for a 2-0 lead. In the 24th minute, AJ Mayock, who was left open at the left post, headed in Gutierrez’s corner kick.

Mayock’s goal came six minutes after the Roadrunners appeared to have taken a 1-0 advantage when midfielder Leah Varela volleyed in a pass from Emelie Ekman. UTSA was ruled to have been offside on the play, erasing the goal, and a video review was inconclusive and left the score at 0-0.

Five minutes before halftime, the Roadrunners appeared to tie it at 1-1 when Addi O’Kelley’s line-drive from the top of the penalty area was waved off after the center referee called a foul.

“It is deflating when you score two goals like that and the referee doesn’t give them for whatever reason,” Pittman said. “It was definitely frustrating.”

The frustration provided a spark for the Roadrunners, who pulled within 2-1 in the 85th minute when Polo headed in Lane’s corner kick. UTSA pressed for a tying goal in the final moments but couldn’t convert.

“It was really awesome,” Polo said of scoring in her final home match. “I don’t know if I’ve ever scored on a header, definitely not in college.”

terrence@terrencesports.com
Twitter: @sa_terence1