The Roadrunners wrangled St. Mary’s soccer team on Sunday night at Park West to beat the Rattlers 1-0 and add another game to their win column.
During their last matchup, the Rattlers and Roadrunners met during an exhibition match between the two universities; UTSA (3-1) came out on top with a 8-0 shutout over St. Mary’s. Tonight marked the first time UTSA faced St. Mary’s in an in-season match, although for St. Mary’s, it was an exhibition game.
Ahead of the 19 minute mark, the Rattlers took a shot on goal but the ball was caught by keeper Jasmine Kessler, who achieved a record-high of 37 saves for UTSA’s soccer team last year as a freshman. To no one’s surprise, the ‘Runners next counter-offensive move started with Kessler.
Following Kessler’s goal throw, captain and midfielder Jordan Walker kicked the ball from midfield towards junior forward Izzy Lane, who took a shot near goal and scored right in the middle of the net to gain a lead over the Rattlers.
The London, England native not only scored her first goal of the season but also the first goal for UTSA that did not come from a set piece. The goal-hungry Lane had five shots on goal in the first three games leading up to this fourth match. Despite coming in as a transfer, San Antonio’s culture is familiar to her, and the Spurs are no strangers to her either. Lane previously played for Tottenham Hotspurs Academy U21 in England. Her cousin, Nana Papa Yaw “Pops” Mensah-Bonsu, who is from Tottenham himself, briefly played for the San Antonio Spurs during his NBA career as well.
“I’m just happy because I had a lot of chances and the same exact situation happened last game I was in but to actually score in this one and breakthrough, it’s been a long time coming,” Lane said.
Lane, a fan of Liverpool Football Club, was inspired by the club’s 2-0 win today over Brentford.
“I saw Liverpool win today and told myself, ‘okay, I’ve got to be like Mo Salah today’,” Lane said.
Lane wasn’t the only member of the team who accomplished a first today. Coach Derek Pittman, in his 14th year as head coach and his seventh as UTSA’s head soccer coach has officially entered the triple digits as he earned his 100th career win with UTSA’s win over St. Mary’s.
“Winning is hard. Winning is extremely hard, no matter what level you’re playing at,” Pittman said. “No matter what team you’re coaching, no matter what you’re trying to accomplish, it takes attention to detail. I’m thankful I’ve been fortunate enough to coach a lot of teams that have bought into that and understand that.”
UTSA will play University of Houston at 7 p.m. Thursday at Carl Lewis International Complex.
