A Decade in C-USA: Women's Soccer
UTSA Women's Soccer closed out its tenure in Conference USA as conference champions
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EDITORS NOTE: This is the first in a series of stories about the UTSA teams during their 10 year run as members of Conference USA.
In the summer of 2013 UTSA Athletics embarked on their third conference in three years when they departed the Western Athletic Conference after one year to become members of Conference USA. For the next 10 years the Roadrunners competed in Conference USA. For all the sports there were ups and downs during the decade in Conference USA.
Now the Roadrunners are embarking on a new journey. On July 1 UTSA will officially become a member of the American Athletic Conference. It will be 10 years to the day that UTSA joined Conference USA.
The first sport to compete in Conference USA was Women's Soccer. In 2013 UTSA Women's Soccer had played seven seasons. The Roadrunners were led by Steve Ballard who had started the program in 2006.
Along with joining a new conference the 2013 season saw a new era for UTSA soccer as they opened the Park West Athletics Complex in August 2013. For the first seven seasons as a program the soccer team had played on the soccer field along Barshop Boulevard next to the UTSA baseball field.
In their first seven seasons the Roadrunner women's soccer team had one conference championship, won in 2010 as members of the Southland Conference. They had to wait until 2022 to claim their first Conference USA championship.
UTSA Women's Soccer won 61 games, lost 98 and tied 18 in all their games over 10 years in Conference USA. The Roadrunner women were 26-56-12 in conference games.
At Park West the Roadrunners have gone 32-36-11 in the last 10 seasons. The Roadrunners road record in the decade of Conference USA membership was 23-58-6. UTSA women's soccer was 6-4-1 in neutral site games from 2013-2022.
The Roadrunner women's soccer team had three head coaches in their time in Conference USA. Ballard left the program after the 2013 season. Greg Sheen led the Lady Roadrunners from 2014 until 2017. In 2018 Derek Pittman came to UTSA after leading the Idaho women's soccer program for four years. Pittman helped lead the Roadrunners to their first Conference USA tournament in 2021 before winning the league in 2022.
| Coach | Overall record in C-USA era | Conf. record in C-USA | Postseason trips in C-USA era | Years at UTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Steve Ballard |
5-12-2 |
4-4-2 |
none |
2006-13 |
|
Greg Sheen |
17-51-4 |
8-30-2 |
none |
2014-17 |
|
Derek Pittman |
39-35-12 |
14-22-8 |
1 (2022) |
2018- |
Notable Moments and players
UTSA women's soccer had two of its best seasons in program history in its final two campaigns in Conference USA. The 2021 team became the first Roadrunner team to win 10 games or more in a season since the 2010 team that won a school-record 13 games.
In 2022 the Roadrunners came one win away from tying that 2010 team's record but they were able to join the 2010 team as one of two Roadrunner women's soccer squads to win a conference tournament. The 2022 team also matched the 2010 team with seven wins at home.
The 10 years in Conference USA might not have had a lot of championships for the Roadrunner women's soccer team but it was not short on notable moments and players.
Just a month after joining Conference USA the Roadrunner women's soccer team cut the ribbon on their Park West soccer field on August 16, 2013 with an exhibition match against cross-town foe UIW. UTSA's first official game at Park West came two weeks later on August 30 when they beat Sam Houston 1-0. San Antonio's own Anissa Munson scored the first official goal at Park West in the 30th minute against Sam Houston.
Munson, an alum of O'Connor, was one of the Roadrunners to play in all three conferences. Munson scored 10 career goals for UTSA, seven of those coming after UTSA joined Conference USA in 2013.
UTSA's leading scorer in the Conference USA era was Ellis Patterson. Patterson scored 20 goals in her Roadrunner career that stretched from 2017-21. Patterson also had a school record 21 career assists.
San Antonio's best goalkeeper during the Conference USA era was Michelle Cole. Cole recorded 156 saves during her Roadrunner career that stretched from 2015 until 2018. Jill Schneider, the Roadrunners final goalkeeper in the Conference USA era recorded 139 saves between 2019 and 2022.
In terms of great moments it is hard to top the way the UTSA women's soccer team closed out their time in Conference USA. In 2022 the Roadrunners went into the conference tournament as the six seed and then proceeded to upset number three seed UAB and number two seed--and new rivals--North Texas.
UTSA then beat number five seed Florida Atlantic 3-2 in the championship game. Marlee Gray scored twice and Kiran Singh scored once to help lift the Roadrunners in the championship game.
The Roadrunners now prepare for the new challenges of soccer in the American. They certainly enter the American Conference riding a wave of momentum they didn't have 10 years ago.
Next in the series: Volleyball
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