After a combined 8-27-2 record over the past two seasons, all eyes are on UTSA women’s soccer and Head Coach Greg Sheen as they aim to turn things around for their 2017 campaign. Although UTSA soccer has struggled to make a run in recent years, the future of the team looks bright, and they are poised to aim for success this upcoming season.
The 2017 roster for UTSA women’s soccer is very young. It includes a dozen freshmen on the team along with ten sophomores. The roster is highlighted by returning star forward Kaja Skare and last season’s freshmen sensations Jordyn Lacy and Katieann Lochte.
Last season, Skare led the ‘Runners with seven goals and three assists. She played in all 19 games in the 2016 season, and she will be returning for her senior season in 2017. Skare will without a doubt be a focal point of the ‘Runners offense once again.
In 2016, Jordyn Lacy proved she could do it all. She finished the season with a very balanced five goals and five assists. As a freshman, she proved she could pass well and also fire the ball into the back of the net when the opportunity arose. She made an immediate impact and played a total of 1,453 minutes while starting all 19 games for the Roadrunners. After an impressive freshman season, she was named to the 2016 C-USA All-Freshmen-Team and was also acknowledged for her exceptional performance in the classroom as she picked up a C-USA Academic Medal. As her sophomore season fast approaches, she will look to have an even bigger impact on the field than she did last season.
In 2016, Lochte, Skare and Lacy led the team and combined for 16 goals and nine assists. The good news is that all three of them will be returning to the team for the 2017 season.
With the new season fast approaching, UTSA fans have already gotten a glimpse of what to expect from this year’s squad. From the looks of it, UTSA will need to start generating more offensive opportunities as they were held scoreless in both of their preseason exhibition matchups. They fell to Texas State 2-0 on Friday Aug. 11, and later played UH to a scoreless 0-0 draw on Sunday Aug. 13. In both matches, UTSA was held to only nine shot attempts. The few times they were able to approach the net, they could not score.
Even though UTSA soccer went 7-12 last season, it is important to remember it was still a step up from the dismal 1-15-2 record we witnessed in 2015. With plenty of young talent on this year’s squad, it is possible fans may see another step in the right direction. With the trio of Lochte, Skare and Lacy at the helm, the ceiling is high for UTSA women’s soccer. After going only 3-7 in conference play last year, they’ll be looking to compete and make a run within C-USA in 2017.
Conference play kicks off Sep. 17, when the ‘Runners travel to Louisiana to take on LA Tech. However, with the preseason over, UTSA will open their regular season Aug. 18 against Abilene Christian here at home at Park West Athletics Complex.
