The UTEP Miners (2-2-1, 1-0-0) beat Lousiana Tech (6-3-0, 0-1-0) Lady Techsters in a defensive-minded match with a late 96th-minute goal from sophomore Tessa Carlin in the first overtime period. The goal earned UTEP a victory in the team’s Conference USA(C-USA) opener at University Field in El Paso in front of the home fans.
For the first 26 minutes of the match was a defensive struggle between the two teams. At that point, UTEP took its first lead of the game with a corner kick from junior Kam Fisher that sophomore Emerson Kid converted to a score on a header to give the Miners a 1-0 lead which the team held at halftime. This score was the first goal of the season for Kidd and the third assist for Fisher.
After 81 minutes of the Miners shutting them out, the Lady Techsters came away with an equalizer on a goal from Klesha Darroux to bring the score to one goal apiece. Neither team would be able to get back into the opponent’s net and regulation play ended with the score tied.
Six minutes into overtime, the Miners, with excellent ball movement from juniors Vic Boden and Kristen Prevosto, set up a Carlin score on a right-footer to win the match. Carlin now has two goals on the season.
Sophomore goalkeeper for the Miners Emily parrot had five saves in six shots on goal from Louisiana Tech. The Miners were only able to get six shots on goal but two of the kicks made it into the opposing net.
UTEP had six corner kicks and 11 total shots compared to Louisiana Tech, which had three corners and eight total shots.
“I thought we did well to grind out a win today,” Stewart Givens said. “LA Tech made it difficult on us because they defend really well. They are very compact, so we didn’t get a ton of chances. The team capitalized on the few that we did make, and I’m really proud of the effort. To come off two weeks of not playing and to get into a rhythm is tough, so they did well to do that. Maybe it took us a little bit longer than we wanted to, but three points are three points and that is all that matters.”
The Miner’s next game will be on the road at Southern Miss noon March 6 before returning Sunday, March 14, to host the University of Alabama at Birmingham(UAB) Blazers (5-2-1) at University Field in El Paso. UAB has a four-match unbeaten streak currently.
Heriberto Perez and Michael Cuviello may be reached at [email protected]
