Late goals doom Roadrunners heading into final weekend

The UTSA soccer team turned some heads earlier this month when they handed North Texas their first (and so far, only) conference loss this year, but the Roadrunners haven’t been able to match that dominant performance since.

UTSA @ WKU – THURSDAY, OCT. 20

UTSA kicked off the weekend early last week, heading to Bowling Green for a Thursday night matchup with league-leading Western Kentucky. Due to a power outage at the Hilltoppers stadium, the game was played at a nearby high school an hour after it was originally scheduled, in front of a mere 127 fans.

The Roadrunners had the upper hand for much of the first half, outshooting WKU 5-4 (3-0 on goal), but the Hilltoppers returned to form after halftime, earning nine corner kicks and outshooting UTSA 8-2.

The Roadrunner defense managed to hold on for 88 minutes before giving up two goals in the final minutes of the match and dropping their 10th game this year.

UTSA vs. FIU – SUNDAY, OCT. 23

In the second game of the weekend, UTSA returned home for a match-up with an FIU squad (1-4-2 C-USA) that had only scored four goals in conference play through eight games.

The Roadrunners opened the scoring in the 39th minute when Alexis Alaniz beat her defender to a ball served across the box by Kaja Skare, and slipped it past the keeper for a 1-0 UTSA lead.

It looked like UTSA would take that lead all the way and put themselves in prime position for a tournament berth, but FIU’s Alyssa Robinson had another idea when she scored her fifth goal of the season in the 85th minute to send the game into overtime.

It only took four minutes of overtime for Robinson to get on the scoreboard again, heading the ball past the UTSA keeper and throwing a huge wrench into the Roadrunners’ postseason plans.

The two late goals by Robinson capped off a three-game stretch that saw UTSA give up five goals, all of them coming after the 80th minute. These late struggles aren’t a new phenomenon either, as the Roadrunners have given up just two goals in the first 60 minutes of their last six games, compared to 12 goals in the final 30 plus overtime.

2016 C-USA TOURNAMENT Picture

As we head into the final weekend of conference play, the Roadrunners are on the outside looking in, needing a flurry of results to earn their first postseason berth since 2011.

Taking a look at the conference standings, the top six teams have punched their tickets to the tournament, including UTSA’s next opponent Louisiana Tech, while UTSA is one of six teams vying for the final two spots.

School              W L T Pts  Rem.Games
x-North Texas       7 1 0  21      2
x-WKU               7 2 0  21      1
x-Rice              7 2 0  21      1
x-Florida Atlantic  6 2 1  19      1
x-Charlotte         5 3 1  16      1
x-Louisiana Tech    5 3 0  15      2
UTEP                4 5 0  12      1
Marshall            3 4 2  11      1
-------------------------------------
Old Dominion        3 5 0   9      2
UTSA                3 6 0   9      1
FIU                 2 4 2   8      2
Southern Miss       2 5 2   8      1
Middle Tennessee    2 8 0   6      0
UAB                 1 7 2   5      0

UTSA POSTSEASON SCENARIOS

The Conference USA soccer tie-breaking criteria is as follows:

  1. Head to head results between tied teams;
  2. Point total against common opponents;
  3. Goals differential from common opponents;
  4. Goals scored against common opponents combined;
  5. Best RPI.

With losses to UTEP, Old Dominion and FIU, UTSA will not be able to win a tie-breaker involving any of the three, but the Roadrunners would beat Marshall on point total against common opponents if both teams finish with 12 points.

Here are the results that UTSA will need in order to qualify for the C-USA tournament (all games Friday, unless specified):

  • UTSA win vs. Louisiana Tech,
  • Marshall loss vs. Charlotte (or tie, plus UTEP win/tie vs. USM),
  • Old Dominion loss/tie @ WKU,
  • and either of the following:
    • FIU loss vs. North Texas (Thu) AND Old Dominion loss/tie @ FIU (Sun)
    • FIU tie vs. North Texas (Thu) AND Old Dominion tie @ FIU (Sun)

It all starts with the Roadrunners needing a solid performance against tournament team Louisiana Tech (5-3 C-USA) at Park West at 7 p.m. on Friday night, but the other results on Thursday and Friday seem likely to fall in UTSA’s favor with Charlotte, WKU and North Texas all jockeying for tournament positioning.

If the stars align and all four of those results do go our way, it would come down to the final matchday with a clash between Old Dominion and FIU at noon on Sunday deciding the Roadrunners’ fate.

Make sure you’re following us on Twitter @RowdyReport to get all the latest updates on the matches impacting our postseason chances.

Week in Review – 10/14/16

Football

It was a historic weekend for UTSA as they routed division-favorites Southern Miss, 55-32, breaking numerous school records in the process.

Led by running back duo Jalen Rhodes and Jarveon Williams, the Roadrunners averaged 11.3 yards per play in the contest – a number that hasn’t been hit in FBS play since 2013 when Florida State averaged 11.6 against Syracuse on the way to a National Championship.

Redshirt freshman Josiah Tauaefa was named Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week after recording 12 tackles and the first interception of his career. Tauaefa is tied for the third-most tackles per game in the FBS, and is on pace to be a shoo-in Freshman All-American.

Read more: Record Book – UTSA vs. Southern Miss

UTSA (2-3, 1-1 C-USA) will look to carry that momentum into this weekend’s game at Rice (0-5, 0-3 C-USA), the last remaining winless team in the league, as the Roadrunner faithful make their biennial pilgrimage down I-10 to paint Rice Stadium orange.

Photo credit: A Concurrent Affair

Volleyball

The UTSA volleyball team’s nine-game winning streak finally came to an end this weekend as they lost their lone match of the week at Marshall, three sets to two.

The Roadrunners (3-1 C-USA) will look to get back on track this weekend as they travel to Murfreesboro on Friday to face Middle Tennessee (1-5) before a quick turnaround for a home game on Sunday against UTEP (2-3).

Women’s Soccer

In their first game of the weekend, the Roadrunners fell to Rice 3-2, squandering a 1-0 lead at halftime. Both goals were scored by defender/forward Alexis Alaniz, helping her to become the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week.

After giving up 2+ goals in seven straight matches, UTSA’s defense hit their stride at just the right time in the second match of the weekend, recording their first shutout of the season in their 3-0 victory over defending conference champions North Texas, handing the Mean Green their first loss in conference play this year.

UTSA’s first goal was scored by senior Brianna Livecchi from 25 yards out, officially assisted by goalkeeper Hannah Weisse, who booted the ball downfield before being mis-hit by a North Texas defender and blasted past the goalkeeper by Livecchi. Norwegian forward Kaja Skare put the final nail in the coffin, burying a penalty in the 82nd minute following a handball in the box. It was her 7th goal of the season, just three goals shy of the UTSA record set by Allison Dillon in 2007.

The Roadrunners (6 pts) will kick off a three-game road stretch this weekend with games at UTEP (6) on Friday and bottom-of-table UAB (4) on Sunday.

Roadrunners in the Pros

Brian Price was inactive for the Packers last weekend, and David Morgan II remained sidelined with an injury, leaving Teddy Williams as the lone UTSA representative in NFL action last weekend. Williams’ Panthers fell to Tampa Bay, 17-14, with the former track star appearing on a season-high 32 snaps.

Read more: Roadrunners in the NFL – Week 5

Former UTSA golfer Johan Edfors won the Terre dei Consoli Open on Sunday, finishing 13 under par. It was the fourth Challenge Tour win of his career, and puts him 33rd in the Road to Oman rankings.