Photo Credit: Vicente Cardenas/The Paisano

Following their first win of the season on Friday night, the UTSA Roadrunners couldn’t extend their winning streak with a 3-1 loss to the Lamar Cardinals on Sunday at the Park West Athletics Complex. The loss puts UTSA at a 1-3 record to start their first season in Conference USA.

UTSA goalie Bubba Makela (1-2), who notched three saves in Friday’s win, was unable to stop all three Cardinals shots on goal. The worst of the three goals came in the 59th minute of the second half on a poor defensive play form UTSA. The Roadrunners failed to clear a shot by Lamar forward Jennifer Yacuta, and the ball slowly leaked by Makela to put the Cardinals ahead, 2-1.

UTSA Head Coach Steve Ballard was not pleased with the goal or his team’s performance to end the weekend.

“Four of our girl’s kind of miss kicked it,” Ballard said. “It was a mental lapse. They have to come ready to play every game. I don’t know what happened from Friday night after the game until Sunday at 1, but the team that was playing Friday wasn’t here today at all.”

The Cardinals struck early in the 5th minute of the first half when Lamar midfielder Kimmy Albeno took a pass from teammate Taylor Mitchell inside the penalty box and shot the ball past Makela’s right side for a 1-0 lead.

In the second half, UTSA forward Taylor Wingerden found the back of the net on a rebound in the 48th minute to tie the game. It was Wingerden’s first goal of the season.

“It was nice to get the first one out of the way. It definitely gave us momentum as a team,” Wingerden said. “I think that we just need to connect better, learn from our mistakes and fix them in the upcoming games this weekend.”

Lamar added a third goal in the 77th minute on a 30-yard shot by midfielder Stefanie Miroballi that bounced off the crossbar and in to seal the victory over the ‘Runners.

The Roadrunners will have a two-game homestand next weekend at Park West. On Friday, Sept. 6, UTSA hosts Texas A&M Corpus Christi at 7 p.m. The ‘Runners will follow up with a match against the Samford Bulldogs on Sunday, Sept. 8 at 1 p.m.