Davis' late-match goal pushes Texas State past I-35 rival UTSA

In the winding seconds of regulation, Texas State broke through against UTSA. 

In the 88th minute, junior defender Genesis Turman gained possession for the Bobcats. Turman found sophomore midfielder Haley Groff open on the right side. Groff sent in a through ball that sliced through UTSA’s back line and found junior forward Kaylee Davis open in front of goal. 

Davis placed the ball out of Roadrunner senior goalkeeper Michelle Cole’s reach and into the back of the net. The goal secured a 1-0 Texas State victory over I-35 rival UTSA on Sunday.   

“Haley (Groff) played an amazing ball through and it was just perfect right to my foot,” Davis said. “I looked up and I saw the keeper was kind of out and just chipped it back post and it went in.”

Texas State and UTSA played a tightly-contest contest in front of a raucous 676 fans that packed the stands at Bobcat Soccer Complex. 

The Roadrunners owned possession in the first half of Sunday’s contest. UTSA put up nine shots to Texas State’s three. 

But the Bobcats made adjustments at halftime to alleviate the pressure the Roadrunners were putting on their defense. 

“We asked our players to find a different way to switch the ball,” head coach Kat Conner said. “We were kind of doing it more in the back, and I wanted it done quicker so we could catch them in a transition. I think that was the difference.” 

Both teams had their opportunities at goal in the second half, but it was Davis’ late-match goal that pushed the Bobcats past UTSA. 

“I thought we did so well,” Davis said. “We played whistle to whistle, which is one of our goals this year. I mean, it came down to the last couple of minutes … It was a hard fight. But we worked together as a team and kept to our gameplan and luckily we got it done. So, it was awesome.”

Conner was pleased with how her team battled against a physical Roadrunner squad. 

“UTSA is a tough, tough, tough team,” Conner said. “Very fit, very physical and likes to go after you. It was a tough game. I was really proud of our players to stay the course. We understood what we were going to see and we understood what our ideas of how to break the pressure from them. It was just they were really tough and they made you play faster and they made you play quicker to know where your outlet was. I thought our players all through the game just kept adjusting, kept adjusting, kept adjusting, kept adjusting, and I think it finally pulled off in the last couple of minutes there.” 

Texas State begins a five-match road trip against McNeese on Friday at 7 p.m. followed by a Sunday matchup against LSU at 1 p.m. in Baton Rouge, La.