Bobcats shutout in I-35 rivalry showdown against Roadrunners

The first match on the road for the Texas State soccer team (2-2-0) ended with a 1-0 setback to I-35 rival UTSA (3-1-0) Sunday from the Park West Athletics Complex.

“We knew it’d be a close game. We’ve played them a couple times in the offseason and it’s been close,” Head Coach Steve Holeman said. “We said before the game that it is probably going to come down to a set piece and sure enough, they finished off a corner. We had our chances on set pieces but couldn’t convert and that was the difference.”

In the 16th minute, a ball into the box found a wide-open Olivia Wright. However, she was unable to bring it down cleanly, and went out for a Roadrunner corner kick.

UTSA took advantage of a corner kick in the 22nd minute, as Sophie Morrin flicked in a redirect from Deja Sandoval, to give them a 1-0 advantage.

A cross from Lucy Hart during the 72nd minute saw Victoria Meza make a diving header attempt. Her redirect ball to the bottom of the left post saw the Roadrunner goalie get enough on it to push the ball out of bounds, for a corner kick.

The last great opportunity for the Bobcats to tie the match came with nearly five minutes left on the clock. A cross in from the far side off the foot of Meza saw Wright able to get her foot on it. However, a challenge from a defender forced the attempt to go just wide of the right post.

Attempting two shots on the night with both being on frame was Alexis Neal. Both Kennley Bradley and Meza took two shots each and had one on goal.

Katelyn Chrisman made her second straight start in goal and made two saves in the contest, with one coming in each half.

Next up for TXST is a home match with Oklahoma State on Thursday. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Bobcat Soccer Complex.