UTSA Women’s Soccer C-USA Tournament qualification tracker

Here’s a live look at the results that the Roadrunner soccer team will need to qualify for the Conference USA Tournament.

Updated C-USA Women’s Soccer Standings
School              W L T Pts  Rem.Games
x-North Texas       8 1 0  24      1
x-WKU               7 3 0  21      0
x-Rice              7 2 0  21      1
x-Florida Atlantic  6 2 1  19      1
x-Charlotte         5 4 1  16      0
x-Louisiana Tech    5 3 0  15      2
Marshall            4 4 2  14      0
UTEP                4 5 0  12      1
-------------------------------------
Old Dominion        4 5 0  12      1
UTSA                3 6 0   9      1
FIU                 2 5 2   8      1
Southern Miss       2 5 2   8      1
Middle Tennessee    2 8 0   6      0
UAB                 1 7 2   5      0
North Texas win/tie @ FIU

Thursday, 6:00 pm (postponed to Friday, Noon) – CUSA.tv, Live Stats

Final score: North Texas 3 – FIU 2


Note: With the win, North Texas clinches the #1 seed and would be UTSA’s first round opponent should the Roadrunners qualify.

Charlotte win/tie @ Marshall

Friday, 6:00 pm – CUSA.tv, Live Stats

Final score: Charlotte 1 – Marshall 2

✗ Western Kentucky win/tie vs. Old Dominion

Friday, 6:00 pm – CUSA.tv, Live Stats

Final score: Western Kentucky 0 – Old Dominion 1

UTSA win vs. Louisiana Tech

Friday, 7:00 pm – CUSA.tv, Live Stats

Halftime: UTSA 0 – Louisiana Tech 1

 

With the above results, UTSA soccer has officially been eliminated from C-USA Tournament contention.

This is a very young team – only three seniors today for Senior Day – with a lot of potential, so the future looks bright for this program after putting up their best record since 2011.

*UTEP win/tie vs. Southern Miss

Friday, 8:00 pm – CUSA.tv, Live Stats

*UTEP result is only necessary if Charlotte/Marshall tie

FIU win/tie vs. Old Dominion

Sunday, Noon – CUSA.tv, Live Stats

 

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.

UTSA Soccer keeps tournament hopes alive

The Roadrunners came into the weekend with a mere six points, just two points above bottom-dweller UAB, and without a win away from home in nearly two months.

UTSA @ UTEP – Friday, Oct. 14

The first match of the weekend saw the Roadrunners travel to El Paso for a match-up against a UTEP squad that was coming off back-to-back home losses to the two other C-USA Texas teams, North Texas and Rice.

The Miners jumped out to an early lead in the 6th minute, but UTSA leveled the score in the 37th with a stunning free kick by freshman Marianne Hernandez that went off the bottom of the crossbar and in.

The score remained level at halftime, but not for long as UTSA’s Katieann Lochte rifled a shot past the keeper from about 30 yards out to take the lead in the 49th minute.

The Roadrunners lead did not last, however, as UTEP scored twice more in the 61st and 74th minute, handing UTSA their fourth loss of league play by a final score of 3-2, a scoreline that has become far too familiar for the struggling Roadrunner defense in recent weeks.

UTSA @ UAB – Sunday, Oct. 16

Looking for their first road win in C-USA play, UTSA traveled to Birmingham to take on UAB, who came into the game with a league-worst 1-5-1 record.

UTSA took the lead in the 20th minute after a corner kick was loose in the box and buried home by senior Brianna Livecchi, her team-leading 4th goal in conference play. The Roadrunners added to their lead in the 65th minute as sophomore Melissa Finley crossed a ball into the box that was mishandled by the UAB keeper and tapped in by freshman Camrynne Hoover.

UAB rallied late and scored a goal in the 83rd minute, but the Roadrunner defense held strong and closed out the game, 2-1, to notch their first road win since August 21.

The win over UAB was the seventh win of the season for UTSA, matching the team’s win total from the past two seasons combined, and the team’s best total since leaving the Southland Conference in 2011.

2011 was also the last time that the Roadrunners competed in postseason play, losing in the second round of the Southland Conference tournament to Stephen F. Austin. But this 2016 squad is looking to reset the clock and qualify for their first ever Conference USA tournament with three games left to play.

2016 Conference USA Tournament

This year’s C-USA women’s soccer tournament will be held in Charlotte from November 2-6, and include the league’s top eight teams based on points earned in conference play.

Here’s how things currently stand in the conference, with UTSA’s remaining opponents in orange, and UTSA falling just below the tournament cutoff due to Lousiana Tech and Old Dominion’s game in hand over the Roadrunners:

School            W L T Pts
WKU               6 2 0  18
Charlotte         5 1 1  16
Florida Atlantic  5 2 1  16
North Texas       5 1 0  15
Rice              5 2 0  15
UTEP              4 3 0  12
Louisiana Tech    3 3 0   9
Old Dominion      3 3 0   9
----------------------------
UTSA              3 4 0   9
Marshall          2 4 2   8
Middle Tennessee  2 6 0   6
FIU               1 4 2   5
Southern Miss     1 5 1   4
UAB               1 6 1   4

The Roadrunners will face an early test on Thursday as they travel to Bowling Green to take on league-leading Western Kentucky, a team with only one home loss this year, falling to LSU on September 8 by a score of 1-0.

UTSA returns home for the final two matches of the season, hosting FIU on Sunday, October 23 and Louisiana Tech on Friday, October 28. FIU has only scored four goals in seven conference matches this year, so UTSA’s defense should be able to hold on and earn the victory.

With three points the likely result of our next two matches, and Louisiana Tech also sitting at nine points, the match against the Bulldogs is looking to be the match that decides who makes the tournament and who is left on the outside looking in.

It should be an exciting couple of weeks as UTSA concludes its best season in the post-Southland era, and you can follow all the action here on RowdyReport.com or by following us on Twitter @RowdyReport.