The UTSA women’s soccer team arrived at the Park West Complex on Wednesday, the heat of the moment seemingly supplanted only by the actual heat — a scorcher with the temperature hovering near 100 degrees at kickoff.

Coming off a scintillating run to a conference championship and NCAA tournament berth a year ago, this was the Roadrunners’ new day of reckoning. The bar has been raised. The little-team-that-could vibe that they have thrived under has dissipated. UTSA is a preseason favorite to win the American Athletic Conference title.

A sultry evening would represent the first chance for a squad long on talent, skill and versatility but lean on overall experience to display on a proverbial canvas its worth.

“As much as you try to simulate it in training or simulate it even in exhibition games, it’s a whole different ball game when the first whistle blows, and now it counts for real,” UTSA coach Derek Pittman said.

Finding themselves in a hole from the start, the Roadrunners flashed their mettle. They twice overcame a one-goal deficit, including one only 3 1/2 minutes into the contest, and played Texas State to a 2-2 draw in both squads’ season opener.

The contest ended with a shot from UTSA sophomore forward Brooklyn Bailey smacking off the crossbar with less than a minute left. Teammate Sadie Paul, a redshirt freshman forward, collected the rebound and her follow-up attempt to the right post was saved by Texas State goalkeeper Caitlyn Draper.

“For our first game, especially having a lot of underclassmen on the team, it’s crucial to play an opponent like Texas State,” UTSA redshirt sophomore midfielder Leah Varela said of the Bobcats, who in 2025 won the Sun Belt Conference crown and an NCAA tournament spot before moving to the Pac-12 Conference this year. “It’s almost like, ‘Welcome to Division I soccer’ for a lot of them. It is a big shock. I thought the girls stepped up and did well.”

Varela figured prominently in the decisive scoring sequence. Her free kick from the top of the penalty area found redshirt freshman forward Dulci Binns, with the pass glancing off Binns’ right knee and finding the back of the net in the 74th minute. It was the first career goal for Binns, a transfer from the University of Georgia.

Binns’ tally came less than six minutes after Texas State grabbed a 2-1 advantage when redshirt senior defender Nina Norshie, a member of Ghana’s senior national team who previously played at Florida State, put in a pass from teammate Matsuri Tsutsui off of a free kick.

The teams were tied 1-1 at halftime in a contest that included 24 fouls and seven yellow cards, including one to each head coach. Bailey converted on a penalty kick in the 20th minute after being fouled by Texas State’s Jenny Ngankem. The Bobcats led 1-0 only 3 1/2 minutes into play when Alamo Heights graduate Lilah Dupree crossed a pass into the penalty area that UTSA defender Kacey Grahmann attempted to clear away but accidentally redirected into her own goal.

“They’re not going to back down, they’re going to fight, they’re going to compete, they’re going to scratch and claw for every inch,” said Pittman, whose team next travels to Fort Worth to face No. 6 TCU on Sunday, of the Roadrunners facing adversity. “To have them respond twice after going down is a huge credit to where we are right now at the beginning of the year. Maybe it’s not as pretty on the offensive side, or maybe not as clean as we want it to be on the defensive side, but our competitive toughness and physicality are always going to be there.”

tthomas@express-news.net
Twitter: @en_terrence