UTSA redshirt sophomore forward Sadie Paul wasn’t quite sure about the exact day that her team’s fortune began to turn around. Maybe, as she searched her memory bank, it was on a recent Monday. Or on a Tuesday. Or perhaps even on a Wednesday. In the grand scheme, the date wasn’t all that important. What transpired, though, was.

When the UTSA women’s soccer players gathered at the residence of captains Ava Jackson and Kameron Kloza, the team was at both a low point and a crossroads. The Roadrunners had suffered losses in three of their previous four matches. Coach Derek Pittman was critical of the team’s mentality and attitude after a 3-0 setback against Rice only a few days earlier.

Over pizza and frozen yogurt, the team had an open and unvarnished meeting. Everything was examined. All opinions were welcomed.

“I think it was really nice for all of us to come together and have an open conversation,” Paul said. “It’s really hard to have those conversations, and figure out what’s going on, whenever we’re losing. That really set the tone for the rest of the week. We all want the same thing. We all want to win.”

On a sunny and windy afternoon, UTSA displayed that desire. Sparked by their offense in the first half and held afloat in the second period by their defense, the Roadrunners clipped first-place Alabama-Birmingham 2-1 Sunday in American Athletic Conference play at Park West Complex.

UTSA (6-3-4 overall, 2-2-1 in conference) was in last place in the 11-team AAC only 10 days ago, but after back-to-back monumental wins now finds itself tied for sixth, one win out of fourth. UTSA defeated South Florida 3-0 on Thursday for their first road triumph in the series.

“Our kids pretty much put their foot down and said, ‘This isn’t going to be who we are,’ ” Pittman said of the recent rough patch. “We want to get back to the gritty hard work that we’re known for and that sets us apart.”

Leading 2-1 after UAB (7-6-1, 4-2), which entered Sunday’s match having won six of its last seven contests and four in a row — outscoring its opponents by a combined 9-1 margin — converted on a penalty kick only six minutes into the second half. Senior midfielder Lauren Lucero netted the goal after VAR (Video Assistant Referee) confirmed that UTSA committed a handball inside its own penalty area.

UAB, just like that, had momentum — and a strong wind at its back for the rest of the way. The Blazers attempted 11 shots and four corner kicks in the final 45 minutes, but UTSA goalkeeper Jasmine Kessler (six saves) and the backline of Sofia Peters, Aaliyaiah Durden, Kacey Grahmann and Paul were up to the task.

“We were able to move on really quick from it,” Grahmann said of the handball. “We all got together, we all talked before the PK, after the PK. We just knew whatever happened, we were just going to stay on the front foot. We just knew the last five minutes, we just needed to get the ball out.”

UTSA jumped to a 2-0 halftime advantage on two spectacular goals. Sophomore midfielder Caroline Pelkofski tallied the game-winner in the 42nd minute when she ran onto a pass from junior Isabel Peters and, off a bounce, volleyed a shot over UAB goalkeeper Macie Murphy to increase the margin to 2-0. It was Pelkofski’s first collegiate goal. She’s in her first year at UTSA after playing last season at fellow AAC school South Florida.

“I just made my run and got my foot on the end of it,” Pelkofski said. “I just knew that was my opportunity and I had to get it. I was really happy I did.”

Thirteen minutes before Pelkofski’s goal, sophomore Sofia Peters put the Roadrunners ahead for good when she took a throw-in from Paul and uncorked a wind-aided shot from near midfield that sailed into the upper left corner. Three minutes later, Jackson headed in a pass from Brooklyn Bailey, but UAB challenged the goal and VAR confirmed that Jackson was offside.

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