San Antonio Athenians 1-1 FC Austin Elite (5/28)

The top two teams in the UWS SW division went head to head. Each team had two games under their belt. The Athenians had 1-1-0 record going into the match and were sitting at number two. A win would tie them for first with FC Austin Elite. These two teams have been local rivals for years just an hour away from each other.

The first half was a deadlock and ended 0-0. It was good competition. You can always expect a physical battle between two top teams. It was a test of defenses, both defenses held strong for 50 minutes. In the 51st minute Emma Ruiz scored on a cross from debutant midfielder Brooke Martinez. The Athenians had chances to finish, but couldn’t find the back of the net. Elite fired back in the 85th minute on a corner. Katy Couperus scored on a header in close range. The game ended in a tie.

With the tie the rankings haven’t changed. Elite still sit atop the SW conference. Athenians are in second. Luxoria is on their heels. With one more win Luxoria can leap frog the Athenians and move into Second place. The race to the top is not going to be easy in this conference.

San Antonio Blossoms 2-1 San Antonio Surf (5/31)

Red River Conference in WPSL is composed of Texas teams. Many of the teams have ties to strong youth programs. Tonight’s match was no exception, a battle of San Antonio youth programs. It was a warm breezy Texas night perfect for soccer before the mid-day 100 degree matches kick in. This was the San Antonio Blossoms first match of the season. The Blossoms have Classic Elite as their youth program. San Antonio Surf is part of the larger surf family.

The first half, Surf outshot Blossoms. Blossoms didn’t seem to want to take the risk of pushing more people up and instead shored up the defenses. Both teams had good possession to start the game. I was watching the key matchup of Blossoms #10 Becca Mays up top versus Surf central defender #42 Janaye Shepherd. Both have shown themselves to be top in their positions locally. Mays has played for New England Mutiny and has terrorized the local men’s league. Shepherd has played defense for UTSA and in the Professional Arena Soccer League. Both are familiar with this league having played previous seasons with their respective teams.

The second half really opened up. Blossoms were starting to take those risks and send more players up. Surf opened up the scoring on a corner kick that bent into the far upper corner. The keeper got a hand on it, but it wasn’t enough. Blossoms retaliated and came back to score two more. Taylor Jernigan scored the first goal. Mays chipped the ball over the last defender to put Jernigan in a one-on-one position to slot the ball past the goalkeeper. Skylar Zinnecker scored the final goal to secure the win for the Blossoms.

- Danielle Gawronski