TUCSON, Ariz. – UTEP senior Alyssa Palacios and sophomore Caley Leask both saw action in front of the net for the Miners, combining for eight total saves in the 5-0 exhibition game loss on the road against Arizona on Saturday night.
"Arizona, most people would say, is the best team on our schedule," UTEP head coach Kevin Cross said. "They went 7-2-2 in the Pac-12 last season. We know we can fix the issues from this game this week in training. We learned a lot from this experience with our very young team. We will be highly motivated and ready for Friday's season opener."
The match began with a 30-minute lightning delay before kicking off. The Wildcats took the early lead with a goal from Jada Talley (3'), before the game experienced its second lightning delay. Arizona scored two more goals before the half from Amanda Porter (6') and Hannah Clifford (18'). Palacios got the start in goal, recording five saves.
UTEP was able to get two shots on goal forcing Arizona's Lainey Burdett to make contesting saves in the second half. The Wildcats added to their lead with tallies from Kennedy Kienenker (57') and Taryn Siegele (89').
Cross did a good job getting lots of playing time across the board, with 20 Miners earning time on the pitch.
UTEP will open the regular season by hosting Lubbock Christian on Friday Aug. 17 with kickoff set for 7 p.m. MT. Fans can enjoy Campers Reunion night. Kids who attended the camp will receive free admission to the game.
