Roadrunner Sports
Park West Opens
On Friday, August 15 2013, the UTSA Athletics Department held a dedication ceremony for the multimillion dollar Park West Athletics Complex. The ceremony was held under the bleachers that divides the new UTSA soccer and track fields. The event coincided with the first UTSA soccer game to be played at the complex. The panel of guest speakers included UTSA President Ricardo Romo, UTSA Athletic Director Lynn Hickey and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff who all took turns thanking each person or organization who helped in the funding and building of Park West. The new complex is less than two miles west of the main campus and will consolidate the needs and functions of all UTSA athletic teams with the exception being volleyball and basketball. The ground breaking was held in April of 2012 and the entire complex will be completed in four phases according to the plans. With Phase 1 complete, UTSA will look to finish Phase 2 which includes the completion of two football practice fields and temporary offices and locker rooms for the team.
‘Runners lose to UIW
The UTSA Roadrunners soccer team lost a competitive exhibition match on Friday, August 16, to the University of Incarnate Word Cardinals (UIW), 2-1. The match was the first game played at the newly opened Park West Athletics Complex. The soccer field hosted a standing room only crowd of 1,117 fans. The stadium is built to hold 1,000 people on both the soccer and track field sides of the complex. The Roadrunners team went into the exhibition match not at full strength with some key players sitting due to injuries. UTSA did manage to stay in the game after giving up two first half goals to the Cardinals thanks to freshman goalie Katherine Tesno, who saved five shots on goals under constant pressure from UIW. Down 2-0 to start the second half, Roadrunners forward Taylor Wingerden scored on a penalty kick in the 47th minute of play. The ‘Runners controlled the ball for most of the second half but could not tie the game in the final minutes of play. UTSA finished the game with 18 total shots to the Cardinals 12.
Football program arrests
The UTSA football program was not immune to controversy over the summer. Current player Will Ritter and future recruit Raymond Kelley were arrested in separate incidetns. On Monday, July 15, KSAT reported that senior defensive end Will Ritter was arrested outside an Austin bar on Sixth Street and charged with aggravated assault and public intoxication. Ritter would be released on a $5,000 bond. The following Monday UTSA announced he would be suspended indefinitely from all team activates. As of August 4, Head Coach Larry Coker announced that Ritter would be reinstated. The football team began fall camp on August 6 and Ritter has been participating since then. No further discipline has been announced. The Austin American-Statesman reported that UTSA football recruit Gregory Kelley was arrested on Monday, August 12 and charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child. The Austin-area recruit played high school football at Leander as a safety where he earned all-district honors last season. Due to NCAA rules, a UTSA spokesman explained the athletic department can’t make any comments on recruits who have not signed a letter of intent to play or are not yet enrolled at UTSA.
San Antonio Sports
Scorpions beaten again
The San Antonio Scorpions entered their match on Saturday night with the hopes of jump-starting what had been a very slow start. Unfortunately the Scorpions suffered their third straight loss of the fall season with a 2-1 loss to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers at Toyota Field in front of 6,105 fans on August 17. The Scorpions started the game just as poorly as they started the season. After just two minutes of playing time, the Scorpions gave up a free kick and the set piece that followed was poorly defended. This allowed Strikers midfielder Mark Anderson the chance to find teammate Martin Nunez free on the back post for an easy tap-in to take an early 1-0 lead. Just 10 minutes later, after consistent attacking pressure, the Strikers earned another free kick on the edge of the 18-yard box. This time Anderson punished the Scorpions himself – hitting the ball with flawless technique to get it over the wall and find the back of the net in the 15th minute that pushed their lead to two goals. As the first half was coming to an end, the Scorpions managed to get a goal back when a deflected corner kick found its way to Scorpions’ forward Tomasz Zahorski’s feet inside the box and the recently signed Polish striker calmly knocked the ball past a beaten goalkeeper for the only Scorpions goal of the game. The team is now 0-3 to start off the season, and they are sitting in last place by three points.
Scorpions player honored
Tomas Zahorski, who scored the Scorpions’ only goal against the Strikers on August 17, was honored by being selected for the NASL Team of the Week award. The Polish native joined the team in July and has scored three goals in the fall season. The selection marks the first time during the fall season that a Scorpions player was given the weekly honors.
Rampage summer news
The San Antonio Rampage will prepare for the 2013-14 season with a three-team exhibition at the Cedar Park Center in Cedar Park, TX. The Rampage will play the Oklahoma City Barons on Saturday, September 28 and then will follow up with a meeting with the home team Texas Stars on Sunday, September 29. The Rampage hopes to rebound after a dismal season where they finished last in the South Division with 67 points (29-38-2-7). In June, the Rampage announced Peter Horachek would take over the head coaching duties former head coach Chuck Weber is having his role expanded as the new San Antonio Director of Hockey Operations and Associate Head Coach. The AHL revised the divisions for the new season. The Rampage are now a part of the West Division in the Western Conference with Abbotsford, Charlotte, Oklahoma City and Texas.
