On the soccer field, the past year was one of frustration and uncertainty for UTSA freshman forward Tyler Coker.

A patellar instability injury, suffered in March 2023 during the club season and required removing a ligament from a femur to stabilize her right kneecap, caused her to miss nearly half of her first college season.

Coker spent months enduring rehabilitation, relegated to riding a stationary bike while her teammates practiced and played. When she finally was cleared for action, the effect of inactiveness was obvious.

“That was a huge struggle for me, trying to play in a Division I atmosphere coming back from an injury,” Coker said. “I definitely had some doubts, like, ‘Is this worth it?’ because the recovery process is so hard. But I had a lot of support. I think I just had to try my best, but sometimes I did struggle just not knowing the speed that people were going to play.”

On Sunday, in the waning moments of the Roadrunners’ exhibition match vs. crosstown St. Mary’s, Coker unleashed a blast that capped a 3-0 win and the athlete’s full-circle trek.

“That goal, for sure, felt like my old self,” said Coker, a New Braunfels High School graduate.

UTSA went 2-0 in a three-team scrimmage that also included Seminole State College, which last fall finished 20-1-1 and advanced to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) national tournament.

Peyton Godbey, Michelle Polo, Jordan Walker, Addi O’Kelley and Sasjah Dade scored a goal apiece for the Roadrunners in a 5-0 triumph vs. Seminole State.

“That’s what’s so important about the spring, is we’ve got to keep taking steps forward,” UTSA coach Derek Pittman said. “We have specific objectives we continue to work on. These were some of the better performances we’ve had so far this spring. We were able to score goals in a variety of ways, which is really positive.”

Against St. Mary’s, UTSA led 1-0 at halftime as defender Zoe May, a transfer from fellow American Athletic Conference member Memphis, headed in a freshman midfielder Maddie Reynolds’ corner kick.

“We needed that first goal, so I was happy I could do that for the team,” May said. “I just really want to fulfill the potential I know I have. I’m happy for today and just want to build on that.”

Walker scored on a long-range goal to make it 2-0 and Coker concluded the scoring as the Roadrunners registered two shutouts.

In the second of the three games, St. Mary’s and Seminole State played to a 1-1 draw. The Rattlers finished second last fall in the NCAA Division II’s Lone Star Conference and have qualified for the national tournament each of the past two seasons.

“I think we’ve been winning most of our spring games, so taking a tie and a loss is definitely eye-opening,” St. Mary’s defender and Brandeis alum Maggie Wirebaugh said. “I think we played much better the second game, but we’ve got a lot of growing to do. I think we’re developing our style of play all over again since we lost a lot of seniors, but I think we’re starting to get our groove and starting to get into the habits for fall.”

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