Alex Granville arrived at UTSA from Florida in 2018, inspired by new coach Derek Pittman’s vision for reviving a struggling women’s soccer program.

On Sunday, five years later, Granville sat on an athletic treatment table, relegated to the role of onlooker. She had an ice pack wrapped on the left hamstring she injured a few weeks ago and might have reaggravated.

As the final seconds wound down on UTSA’s 1-0 loss to South Florida on Sunday in an American Athletic Conference contest played before a crowd of 880 at Park West Complex, Granville’s emotions ran the gamut.

There was the pride of fulfilling a promise to help turn around the Roadrunners’ fortunes, with a sign affixed to a fence across the field commemorating last year’s Conference USA championship serving as validation. There was the excitement of the program’s future, with a young, talented roster to aid the journey. And finally, there was the realization that Granville had played in her final home match.

“It’s a bittersweet feeling,” Granville said. “When I first came in, we were at the bottom of the league. We were never making conference tournaments, and teams would say we were a pushover. And that’s something I wanted to come in and help change. I feel like we’ve done that.”

A year removed from a magical run to the NCAA tournament, UTSA (6-7-4 overall, 1-4-3) now plays for pride and a springboard for next year. The Roadrunners could finish tied for the final spot in the AAC tournament with a win vs. Rice and a loss by North Texas on Thursday. North Texas (8-4-3, 2-3-3), though, would advance because it has a head-to-head tiebreaker thanks to a 2-0 win vs. UTSA on Sept. 28.

“All of our focus is just the next game, the next game, the next game, whether or not what the postseason looks like,” UTSA defender Sabrina Hillyer said. “We have Thursday to win, and that’s all we have promised to us.”

Nearly a week ago, UTSA entered a homestand with aspirations of advancing to the AAC tournament in its first season in the league. But the Roadrunners came away empty, losing to South Florida after playing to a scoreless draw to Florida Atlantic on Thursday.

In a contest dominated by defense, South Florida made the most of one of the few scoring opportunities by both teams. Midfielder Madison Schwartzenberger netted her first collegiate goal when she put in a free kick from defender Vivianne Bessette with 22 seconds remaining before halftime.

“We say it all the time, you have to stay locked in the full 90 minutes,” Hillyer said. “If you check out the last 10, 20 seconds of a half, that’s all it takes. That’s just something we need to do a better job on. They were in the right place at the right time.”

The setback to South Florida came 66 hours after the Roadrunners played perhaps their most complete match vs. Florida Atlantic, only to come away with a scoreless draw despite an 11-2 shot advantage.

“It’s frustrating,” UTSA forward Maci Geltmeier said. “We’re all working as hard as we can, and we want the results. We just have to remember we’re in a new conference. We have to remember where we came from. We’re proving ourselves still. We have to focus on what’s important going forward, and that’s fixing all the little details. The effort’s there. Sometimes the execution isn’t.”

terrence@terrencesports.com
Twitter: @sa_terrence1