SAN ANTONIO — Despite dominating possession of the ball and playing a relentlessly-physical first half, UTSA women’s soccer could not maintain momentum going into the second half, ending their Saturday scrimmage against Seminole State College in a 0-0 draw.
The Roadrunners took four shot attempts and had two shots on goal in the first half, as they leaned heavily on offensive pushes. UTSA could not fully capitalize on their offensive authority in the game’s first 30 minutes, and missed opportunities winded the team before they began a meager second half effort that put them amid a defensive dogfight.
The Roadrunners had a hopeful opportunity in the 29th minute when sophomore forward Brooklyn Bailey launched a perfectly-placed pass to a heavily-guarded sophomore forward Ava Jackson. With defender Bella Mattingly in constant stride with her, Jackson tripped and sent the ball out of bounds, ending the first period.
Matters took a turn for the worse in the second half, with Seminole State threatening to score and scattering UTSA’s defense in the 42nd minute. The Trojans drew out freshman goalkeeper Jaelyn Bracamonte, leaving the goal wide open for a score in the calamity, but their attempt was thwarted by a header from junior defender Aaliyaiah Durden.
“In the second half, I think we did some things that were okay,” coach Derek Pittman said. “Again, as you make subs, you make some different changes. You put some different people in personnel-wise. Sometimes they step up and they play well. Sometimes they struggle. At the end of the day, I think that it simply came down to Seminole was outworking us and wanted it more and played harder than we did. For that reason, that’s why we found ourselves in a dogfight today.”
UTSA’s final moments on the pitch fizzled out as they failed to position the ball within scoring distance. A late defensive effort from the Roadrunners pushed the ball out of bounds in the final seconds, leaving minimal time for Seminole State to make a shot attempt.
“We got a lot to work on,” Pittman said. “It wasn’t a great game to be honest, with full credit to Seminole. They came out with a tremendous amount of energy, and we were extremely flat. We didn’t bring the energy. We didn’t bring the enthusiasm and the intensity that normally we bring.
“If this is an indication of where we’re going to be in the fall, we’re in trouble. We’ve got a lot of work to do, but I know this team is capable of it.”
UTSA women’s soccer will next play The University of Texas at Austin at 1 p.m. on April 11 at Mike A. Myers Stadium and Soccer Field.
