UTEP Miners

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EL PASO, Texas- The UTEP soccer team will venture back onto the road with matches at Wyoming at 4:30 p.m. MT Friday and at Idaho State at 1 p.m. MT Sunday.
"We have a big weekend ahead of us playing two tough teams on the road," UTEP head coach Kevin Cross said. "We have been a good road team in the past few years, but we know these two teams are very tough. We must take care of every single detail in order to achieve positive results on the road. We look forward to this challenge."

Going Back In Time
UTEP fell, 1-0, in double overtime to CSU Bakersfield on Aug. 25 before being upended by New Mexico by the identical score in overtime. Junior GK Alyssa Palacios registered 17 saves over the weekend, including a career-high tying 10 stops in the match-up against the Lobos.  

Series History Vs. Wyoming
UTEP is 4-0 all-time against its former WAC rival, including a 2-0 outcome last year in El Paso (9/2/16).
 
Brief Rundown On The Cowgirls
Wyoming is 1-2 on the year, including most recently falling in OT by a score of 2-1 at Kentucky on Aug. 27. The Cowgirls started with a 2-1 loss at Baylor (Aug. 20), bounced back to cruise past Southern Utah, 3-1, at home on Aug. 25 before the setback at UK. Brittney Stark (two goals) paces the attack, with three others finding the back of the net. Tristan Tyrrell has the lone assist on the season. Wyoming has been outshot, 53-24, though shots on goal are 16-14 in favor of the foes. Corner kicks stand 18-7 for the opposition.
 
Series History Vs. Idaho State
UTEP and Idaho State are meeting for just the second time. Back in 1999 ISU handed UTEP a 2-1 defeat during the Miner Classic (10/1/99)
 
Brief Rundown On The Bengals
Idaho State cruised to a 3-0 season-opening win at Chicago State (Aug. 18) before falling at Michigan, 4-0, on Aug. 20. Last time out the Bengals were edged at home against Boise State, 1-0. Three different players have scored goals for ISU while three others have added assists. They have been outshot, 48-34, including 24-13 for shots on goals, but corner kicks are closer at 16-14 for the opposition. Idaho State has been even with its foes (3-3) in the first half of games while being outscored 2-0 in the second half. Shawna Hennings has seen the majority of time in net, accounting for 16 of the team's 19 saves on the season.
 
Working Overtime
For the first time in program history UTEP has gone to overtime in four straight contests to start the season. Overall it is third occasion (2013, 2014) ever that UTEP has played four consecutive OT contests. The Miners have never had five straight OT matches.

Close Calls
For the third time in program history (2008, 2015) the first four matches of the season have all been decided by one goal or less. In 2015 the initial five contests were one-goal outcomes, marking the longest such streak to begin a campaign.  

It's Been A Long While
The Miners have dropped four straight matches to start the year for the first time since 2000, the season before Kevin Cross assumed the head coaching position. In fact Cross had never even started at 0-2 to a campaign prior to 2017.
 
Iron Women
Freshman D Hannah Burbank, sophomore D Lauren Crenshaw and junior GK Alyssa Palacios have played all 399 minutes of action on the year (99.8 minutes/match) thus far. Senior MF Kennadie Chaudhary isn't far off, logging 390 minutes (97.5 minutes/match) while senior F Jeanna Mullen (368 minutes-92 minutes/match) and junior defender Payton Ross (341 minutes-85.2 minutes/match) have also been heavy on the minutes.

Balanced Attack
Danielle Carreon (one goal), Kennadie Chaudhary (one goal), Vic Bohdan (one assist), Isabel Trevino (one assist) and Aylin Villalobos (one assist) have all been offensively involved to start the season. 
 
Keep Them Coming
Kennadie Chaudhary is tied for the team lead in goals (one) but she stands alone with a squad-best five shots on target in six total shot attempts. Aylin Villalobos and Danielle Carreon tie for second on the squad in shots on goal with three each for the Miners, who as a team have registered 19 total.
 
First-Half Power
UTEP has outscored foes 2-1 in the first half of games this year, aided by earning 11 corner kicks while recording 14 shots in that timeframe.
 
Road Warriors
In 2017 the Miners hope to continue an unprecedented string of success on the road. Last year they went 5-4 in road matches to extend the school-record streak of a winning road record to four straight seasons. Overall they are a combined 21-13-3 on the road in that stretch, including 0-1 in 2017.  
 
Save The Day
Alyssa Palacios has recorded at least five saves in all four matches in 2017, including a career-high tying 10 stops against New Mexico on Aug. 27. Palacios has 28 saves on the season to bring her career total to 271, moving her into third place on the Miner all-time charts. The record holder is Amanda Smith (438; 1996-99) while Sarah Dilling (317; 2011-14) occupies second place. Brittany Popoff (270; 2004-07) now occupies fourth place after Palacios moved past her thanks to the effort against UNM.
 
Start It Up
Junior GK Alyssa Palacios has started the first four matches of the season, elevating her total to 48 starts in as many matches since joining UTEP. The effort has allowed her to move from fifth place into fourth place on the UTEP career charts. Brittany Popoff (56; 2004-07) sits in third place.
 
Youth Served
Even though the Miners returned 13 letter winners, including six starters, they are notably young in 2017. Of the 27 student-athletes on the roster, 20 are either freshmen (12) or sophomores (eight). There are only three seniors and four juniors.
 
Looking At The Line-Up
Six Miners (Hannah Burbank-Fr., Lauren Crenshaw-So., Kennadie Chaudhary-Sr., Jeanna Mullen-Sr., Alyssa Palacios-Jr., and Payton Ross-Jr.,) have started all four matches on the season while nine others have also appeared in each of the games. Overall 21 student-athletes, including 14 underclassmen, have seen action thus far.  
 
Closing In On Club 200
In his 17th year as the Miners' head coach Kevin Cross has a record of 197-112-23, putting him on the cusp of joining an exclusive club in UTEP Athletics lore. With three more victories Cross will become the fifth head coach in Miner sports history to reach 200 career wins at the school. Previously Don Haskins (men's basketball, 719-354), Norm Brandl (volleyball, 355-337), Keitha Adams (women's basketball, 284-209) and co-head coaches James and Kathleen Rodriguez (softball, 211-325) achieved the feat. Cross also has the fourth-most tenured run by a Miner head coach. He trails Haskins (37 years), Jere Pelletier (women's golf, 22 years and counting) and Bob Kitchens (track & field, 22 years).
 
Trailing Only Haskins
Not only has Kevin Cross put himself on the cusp of the 200+ win club at UTEP, he has done so in style. His winning percentage stands at 62.8 percent (197-112-23). That figure would trail only Hall of Fame Coach Don Haskins (men's basketball) among the 200+ victory UTEP head coach club. Haskins had a 67.0 winning percentage (719-354) in his 37 seasons roaming the sidelines.
 
The Basic Facts
UTEP is in its 22nd season as a program, boasting an all-time record of 239-160-30. The Miners are under the direction of 17th-year head coach Kevin Cross, who sports a mark of 197-112-23 in that time frame. He is assisted by two former Miners (Heather Clark and Jessie Pettit).
 
RPI Success
One of the best ways to measure a team's worth across the board is the RPI, and that's an area UTEP has thrived in. The Miners have produced a top-100 RPI in five of the eight past seasons and 10 times total under Kevin Cross, including a program-best 31 in 2005. Additionally, the Miners have secured a spot in the NSCAA Central Region top-10 poll in 11 of the past 13 seasons.
 
Matter Of Consistency
The Miners have averaged 12 wins while appearing in three conference title games and one NCAA tournament (2005, second round) under Kevin Cross. UTEP is one of 12 programs nationwide (325+ programs) to have hit 10+ wins in each year since 2002. Joining the Miners are Boston College, Florida, Florida State, North Carolina, North Texas, Notre Dame, Penn State, Stanford, Texas A&M, Virginia and West Virginia.