Pieces Are Coming Together: UTRGV Women’s Soccer Building Through Year One Under Nataki Stewart

Eleven matches into the Nataki Stewart era, UTRGV women’s soccer has already given us a few reasons to be intrigued.

Isabella Burtini has become the player at the center of the attack. Freshman Anuhea Aalona is starting to make her presence felt. Mariana Amezcua has had some big afternoons in goal, and Sienna Church has been part of a defense that already put together three straight shutouts.

The record — 4-6-1 overall and 0-2-1 in the Southland — doesn’t jump off the page.

But watch how UTRGV has gotten here, and there’s more to the first 11 matches than the record alone.

The Attack Runs Through Burtini

At this point, there isn’t much mystery about who UTRGV’s attack runs through.

It’s Isabella Burtini.

Through 11 matches, Burtini leads the Vaqueros with five goals, three assists and 13 points. She also leads the team with 26 shots.

And we’ve seen her impact in different ways.

Burtini scored against Texas State, delivered two goals in the 4-0 win over Prairie View A&M, assisted in the victory at Tarleton State and added another two-goal performance at Sam Houston.

That early run earned her Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors.

She hasn’t scored through UTRGV’s first three conference matches, but that doesn’t mean she’s disappeared. Burtini helped create Rubi Ortiz’s equalizer at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, recording one of the two assists on the goal.

She’s gone from being another option in the attack to becoming its centerpiece.

And Here Comes Aalona

Here’s where it gets interesting.

UTRGV may already be finding another scoring option next to her.

Freshman Anuhea Aalona has two goals and an assist through her first 11 college matches.

Her first collegiate goal came in UTRGV’s 5-1 win over Concordia. Then, against Houston Christian, Aalona scored the Vaqueros’ only goal.

She’s still at the beginning of her college career, but the early production is encouraging.

And UTRGV has other options.

Amy Romero has two goals and two assists, while Natalie Singleton has scored twice.

The Vaqueros don’t need every attacking player to become a double-digit goal scorer. They need enough threats around Burtini that opponents can’t focus entirely on taking away one player.

We’re starting to see some of those options emerge.

Don’t Forget What This Defense Already Did

It’s easy to look at the most recent result and forget what UTRGV showed earlier in the season.

The Vaqueros put together three straight shutout victories.

They beat Prairie View A&M 4-0, went on the road and defeated Tarleton State 1-0, then came home and beat Texas A&M International 1-0.

Mariana Amezcua was excellent during that run.

Her eight-save performance at Tarleton helped UTRGV protect a one-goal lead on the road, and she has continued to make saves as the level of competition has increased.

Through UTRGV’s first three Southland matches, Amezcua has made 18 saves.

Then there’s Sienna Church, who has been an important part of the defensive group. Church and Amezcua both earned Southland weekly honors during UTRGV’s shutout run.

That’s worth remembering.

We’ve already seen this team defend at a high level for an extended stretch.

More Than One Burtini

There was also a pretty cool moment at Corpus Christi.

UTRGV trailed 1-0 before Rubi Ortiz found the equalizer in the 74th minute.

Both Isabella Burtini and freshman Angelina Burtini assisted on the goal.

Two sisters. Same scoring play. And it helped UTRGV leave Corpus Christi with a conference point.

It’s a small moment in a long season, but it’s also another example of younger players beginning to get involved around some of UTRGV’s established contributors.

Putting the Conference Start in Context

UTRGV hasn’t picked up its first Southland win yet, but the 0-2-1 start deserves some context.

Lamar needed a goal with nine seconds remaining to beat the Vaqueros 1-0 in the conference opener.

UTRGV responded by going on the road and earning a 1-1 draw against Corpus Christi.

Houston Christian was a tougher afternoon, handing UTRGV a 4-1 loss, but even there Aalona added another goal to her freshman season.

Nobody is going to celebrate an 0-2-1 start.

But we’re also only three matches into the conference schedule.

There’s plenty of soccer left.

Now Comes a Chance to Reset

UTRGV doesn’t play again until Oct. 8 against McNeese, giving Stewart and the Vaqueros some time before jumping back into Southland play.

And maybe that’s a good point to evaluate where this team actually is.

Burtini has become UTRGV’s leading attacking threat.

Aalona is already contributing as a freshman.

Amezcua has shown she can change matches in goal.

Church has helped anchor a defense capable of stringing together shutouts.

And other players are starting to contribute around them.

That’s a pretty good list of things to build on.

Diamond DITV Final Word

This team isn’t a finished product.

It shouldn’t be.

We’re 11 matches into the first season under Nataki Stewart.

But we know more about UTRGV than we did in August.

Burtini looks like a legitimate centerpiece. Aalona is giving us a freshman to watch. Amezcua has shown she can change matches in goal. Church has helped anchor a defense capable of putting together shutouts.

Now they get some time before McNeese comes to town.

There’s a lot of soccer still ahead.

But the pieces are starting to come together — and that’s what makes the rest of Year One interesting.