Miners Declaw Bearkats 2-1 in Home Finale
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The UTEP soccer team (5-8-3, 2-5-1 CUSA) defeated Sam Houston (7-7-2, 4-4 CUSA) 2-1 Sunday in the Miners’ final home game of the 2024 regular season. Ashlyn Neireiter and Eve Barry both scored in the win while Tionna Taylor made four saves in net, including a penalty kick save late in the second half.
The Bearkats held a slight statistical advantage in total shots (16-11) and shots on goal (5-4) but the Miners made no mistake with their chances. UTEP did our earn SHSU in corner kicks, 5-4. Mina Rodriguez led the team with four shots, followed by Barry with two. Seven different Miners recorded a shot in the match.
“I think it was our best half of soccer, against a great opponent. We saw glimpses of it against Houston Christian, but this is the first game where we’ve dominated the entire first half,” Head Coach Gibbs Keeton said. “Winning instills so much in teams. It fuels them, builds confidence, gives energy and also a sense of relief. It allows you to play free, and we need that. We hope we can take that to NM State. We love that game and we’ll be up for it. So, we look forward to our last game of the season.”
The Orange and Blue came out firing to start the first half earning a corner kick and a free kick within the first five minutes of action, while keeping the ball mostly in the offensive half of the field.
Taylor was called into action for the first time in the 16th minute, picking up a save from Sam Houston’s Kinsey Hill.
In the 18th minute a handball in the box from the Bearkats’ Jasmine Dybala resulted in a penalty kick for the Miners. Neireiter sent keeper Cassia Souza the wrong direction and buried the ball to put UTEP up 1-0. It was Neireiter’s second goal of the season.
Just past the 25-minute mark, Anai Lopez forced an acrobatic save from Souza when she hit a rocket to the top corner.
The Miners earned back-to-back corner kicks as a result. On the second service from Mina Rodriguez, the ball found Barry after touches from both Sydney Williams and Kaila Hudson, and she neatly placed the ball past Souza to double the lead, 2-0. The goal marked her second of the season as well.
The visitors clawed one back in the 31st, just three minutes after UTEP’s second goal, when Tiana Johnson put one past Taylor off an assist from Landri Townsend.
The Miners defense fended off a corner from the Bearkats in the 35th minute before having an opportunity of their own in the 37th. The defense also blocked a shot from SHSU’s Solae Young in the 38th.
Barry had another try on goal in the dying minutes of the first period, but Souza was able to get her hands on it, and UTEP took the 2-1 lead into the break.
Johnson had a shot blocked by the Orange and Blue right at the start of the second half before Rodriguez had two blocked in the 53rd and 55th minutes. Taylor made her second save of the game in the 56th, denying Townsend’s effort. Maya Vitoria also had her try blocked in the 57th minute.
The moment of the game came at the 59-minute mark, when a handball by the Miners gave Sam Houston a penalty kick. Townsend stepped up to take it, but Taylor made a diving save to keep the net clear and preserve the lead.
Taylor made her fourth save of the match in the 66th minute, denying Dana Hanson.
The Miners defense stepped up big in the second half, blocking a shot in the 78th minute off a corner kick. They also fended off both a corner and free kick from Sam Houston as time expired to hold onto the win.
UTEP’s now prepares to head to Las Cruces, N.M., Thursday (10/31) to take on NM State in the Battle of I-10. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. MT.
