UTEP soccer falls to Sam Houston on road, 3-0

HUNTSVILLE, Texas – The UTEP soccer team was dealt a 3-0 setback at Sam Houston on Saturday night. The Bearkats (6-4-2, 3-1-1 CUSA) got an early goal from Gabrielle Gipson (3’) and second-half tallies from Indigo Sims (63’) and Tiana Johnson (80’) to stem off any rally attempts from the Miners (3-8-3, 0-3-2 CUSA).

UTEP had plenty of good moments throughout the match but was unable to find the back of the net. The Orange and Blue outshot Sam Houston, 12-7, and precision defensive form helped them catch the home side offside seven times. Savanah Finley contributed one save.

Katie Bahn was called upon to deliver two saves for the Bearkats.

The home side struck first, with Gipson finishing the feed from Pam Murray on a set piece three minutes into the match.

UTEP looked to get things going with a shot from Dannique Wilson (7’), but it didn’t pester Bahn. The Miners then had a chance wiped away on an offside call, but they kept the pressure up. UTEP put in good work to secure a corner kick and get a look for Anai Lopez (13’), but that shot too was off target.

After the Orange and Blue successfully defended a corner kick, they went back on the offensive. Ana Quintero (21’) found some space to work with only to have Bahn track it for the save in the center of the frame.

Finley then did her part, collecting a try from Alesandra Maldonado (26’) to keep the Miners within striking distance. UTEP was back on the offensive with nine minutes left in the opening frame. Eve Barry (36’) went in search of the equalizer, but her blast was off the mark. It secured another opportunity in the final minutes of the frame with a corner. The home side was in better form this time, and the Miners headed into halftime trailing by a count of 1-0.

The Orange and Blue were assertive in the opening stages of the second half, with a Quintero shot blocked. She then got to her rebound and fired, but it whistled past the goal. She kept at it, forcing another save from Bahn in the 55th minute. Olivia Roskos (56’) uncorked a chance that was off the mark before Quintero (57’) had a shot blocked.

Sam Houston stretched its advantage to 2-0 thanks to a left-foot blast from Sims (63’) that bested Finley.

The Miners picked up their intensity after conceding the second score, but respective shots 53 seconds apart from Wilson (75’) and Zeta McDannels (75’) were both off target.

The home side assured UTEP would not mount a comeback with Johnson (80’) besting Finley on a breakaway. The Miners played hard down the stretch, but they couldn’t crack the scoreboard.

UTEP will be back on the road next week with a pair of matches. The Miners will play at WKU at 6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT Thursday before wrapping up the week at Middle Tennessee 12 p.m. MT/1 p.m. CT on October 19.

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