Oct. 10, 2010
Final Stats
Box Score In PDF Format 
TULSA, OKLA.- The UTEP soccer team was saddled with hard-fought 1-0 defeat at Tulsa on Sunday.
Junior GK Chandra Morden registered eight saves for the Miners (9-5-0, 2-4-0 C-USA) but she couldn't come up with a stop on a penalty kick try by the Golden Hurricanes' (6-8-0, 1-5-0 C-USA) Brandi Neilson at 73:50.
UTEP earned four corner kicks while taking 16 shots-including five on target- but it could not find a way to beat TU netminder Katie Bykowski. It was a chippy contest with 33 fouls between the squads (16 UTEP, 17 Tulsa).
It was an aggressive approach early on for the Miners, with Katie Dorman ripping a shot at the 5:47 mark. The try was blocked, setting up a corner kick. UTEP was unable to convert, though.
Morden was called upon a couple minutes later, where she gobbled up the chance by Rachel Garcia at 8:57.
Brittany Kindzierski, the leading scorer in C-USA, tried to spark UTEP's offense in the 11th minute. She made a move to get some space to work with only to fire the chance wide. The sophomore was errant again at 28:28, this time to the right.
The Miners' kept the pressure on as the period wore on, but they could not punch it in. Freshman Azia Nicholson redirected a service off a corner kick at 36:08, but Bykowski recorded the stop.
TU picked up its intensity late in the stanza, but Morden was ready. She stoned Shelby Martin at 37:02 before coming up with the save on a shot by Jasmine Mendiola at 42:37.
There was a flurry to start the second half, but both goalkeepers proved to be capable. Morden came up with a pair of saves on chances by Stephanie Aitken (47:14 & 49:42). In between freshman Tori Martyn was denied by Bykowsi.
UTEP was back on the offensive in the 61st minute, garnering two corner kicks. The first one was knocked away by the TU defense while the second service forced Bykowski to make a save.
Tess Hall misfired high on a shot at 63:36, as did Dorman at 67:11.
The fortunes of the tilt changed in the 73rd minute, after a foul in the box afforded the homestanding squad a penalty kick. Neilson managed to sneak the shot past Morden, to put TU up 1-0.
The Miners continued to fight down the stretch in an effort to knot the match, but it was not to be. Freshman Gina Soto had the best look at 84:38, only to have Bykowski make the save.
UTEP will return home to face Southern Miss in its "Senior Night" game at 7 p.m. MT on Friday. The Miners will then challenge UCF in their home finale at 12 p.m. on Sunday.
