EL PASO, Texas – The UTEP soccer team will wrap up the home portion of its nonconference schedule with a pair of matches at University Field (elevation 4,200 feet) this week. The Miners (1-2-1) will play host to Tarleton State (2-1-1) at 7 p.m. MT Thursday and challenge SFA (0-1-2) at 1 p.m. MT Sunday. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will be available through Stat Broadcast. 
 
Thursday will be the "Student Appreciation" game. There will be a pregame tailgate (while supplies last), in addition to discounted adult beverages. To help beat the heat for Sunday, Kona Ice will be available for purchase on site. It will also be "Heroes Day," giving fans the chance to celebrate all heroes.
 
Single-game tickets may be purchased for only $10 by calling (915) 747-UTEP, emailing tickets@utep.edu, visiting www.UTEPMiners.com/Tickets or going in person at 201 Glory Road (Brumbelow Building, UTEP Campus), Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Gates at University Field open one hour prior to kickoff, where fans may buy tickets on site.
 
Get To Know Tarleton State
Tarleton State is riding a two-match unbeaten streak and enters the game at UTEP with a mark of 2-1-1 on the year. The Texans are coming off a 4-0 road dismantling of Texas Southern on Aug. 24, a team the Miners beat by the same score at home on Aug. 17. TSU has yet to win a home game (0-1-1) but has also yet to lose a contest on the road (2-0). Keying the efforts for the Texans is Stevie Reynolds, who is third in the country with five goals on the campaign. She has found the back of the net in three of four games, aided by registering a brace twice. More impressive is the fact that her five goals have come on a total of eight shots on target. Two other individuals have scored once while Isa Bergeron-Prejean and Sammy Schulze share the team lead for assists (two-tied first WAC/tied 51st NCAA). Emma Barnes (1-0-1) and Mikayla Kendall (1-1-0) have both started twice in net. Barnes has recorded a pair of shutouts, making six total saves. Kendall, who was a second-team All-WAC and All-Region honoree a year ago, has turned away five of the eight shots on target. The Texans have blanked three of their four opponents (75.0 percent-first WAC/11th NCAA), with only Houston Christian (L, 3-2) managing to score against them. TSU also does a good job of keeping the heat on the opposition with 6.75 corner kicks per contest (second WAC/52nd NCAA).
 
Series History With Tarleton State
Thursday's meeting is the first between the programs.
 
Get To Know SFA
SFA (0-1-2), which competed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, enters this week in search of its first win of the season, having lost at Tulsa, 3-2, (8/17) and securing ties against both Sam Houston (T, 1-1, 8/14) and at Arkansas State (T, 2-2, 8/21). Taylor Dodson leads the attack with two goals while three others have beaten the keeper once. Brielle Buchanan has been credited with a team-leading two assists while three other players have recorded one helper each. Logan Heausler is still searching for her first goal of the season, but she has kept the opposition busy. She paces the SLC in both shots per game (3.3-96th NCAA) and shots on goal per game (1.7). Makenna Garcia and Sierra McCluer have both logged 135:00 minutes in net, but Garcia has been far busier. She has recorded 10 saves while McCluer boasts a trio of stops. Garcia's 5.0 saves per game is fifth in the SLC and 61st nationally. Both the Lumberjacks and their opponents have registered 19 shots on goal, but the opposition has held a slight 6-5 cumulative advantage for goals to this juncture of the season. SFA defends well without fouling, committing just 7.3 fouls per contest (fourth SLC/82nd NCAA)
 
Series History With SFA
Sunday's meeting with the Lumberjacks will be the 10th all-time between the programs, but it is also the first since the 2017 season. UTEP has a 5-4 edge in the series, having bested SFA, 2-1, in the most-recent match-up eight years ago.  
 
A First For Hayden
Hayden McMillan half-volleyed home a shot to get UTEP on the board in the eventual 2-1 setback at Cal State Fullerton on Aug. 24. It marked the first goal in her 19th appearance in a Miner uniform. She did find the back of the net three times while previously playing with Texas Southern. The effort continues what has been a strong start to the season for McMillan, who is one of two players on the team (Yesenia Cisneros is the other) to have at least one goal and one assist. McMillan and Cisneros share second place on the squad for points (three) behind Ana Quintero (four). McMillan has played in all four matches, including making three starts.
 
What A Find From Olivia
Junior Olivia Roskos was credited with her second career assist on the goal in the 59th minute from Hayden McMillan at Cal State Fullerton on Aug. 24. After being awarded a free kick just past midfield, Roskos boomed a ball into the ball that skipped past the Titans' defense. McMillan ran onto the ball and half-volleyed it home to get UTEP on the board and cut the deficit in half.
 
Make It Five Helpers This Year
UTEP has tallied five goals on the campaign, with each of them being assisted by a different Miner (Yesenia Cisneros, Ava Grosso, Hayden McMillan, Ashlee Mora and Olivia Roskos). The five helpers are already three shy of last year's total (eight). At the current rate, the Orange and Blue are on track to record 21 assists. That would be the most since 2019 (29).
 
Playing Beyond Her Years
Freshman GK Savanah Finley has looked like a proven veteran through four matches on the season. She has logged all 360 minutes of action in net (first CUSA/second NCAA) while recording some impressive statistics across the board. She has been credited with 13 total saves (fourth CUSA/95th NCAA), posted two clean sheets (first CUSA/11th NCAA), produced a save percentage of 81.3 (first CUSA/108th NCAA) and a goals against average of 0.75 (second CUSA/101st NCAA). She has yielded three total goals, one coming on a PK and the other two in one-vs.-one situations.
 
Youth Served In Net
Freshman Savanah Finley has started all four games in net this year. She became the first Miner freshman GK to have earned the starting nod in the opener since Emily Parrott in 2019 and hasn't given up the spot since. Finley is also the initial UTEP freshman keeper since Parrott (seven, 2019) to have multiple shutouts in a year. She has already delivered a pair of clean sheets (first CUSA/11th NCAA).
 
Quintero Keeping That Pressure Up
Sophomore Ana Quintero has been a problem for the opposition thus far in 2025. She has scored twice (fourth CUSA/93rd NCAA) while leading CUSA and checking in 34th nationally for shots per game (4.25). Her 1.75 shots on goal per contest is also among the league leaders (third CUSA) while it falls just outside of the top 100 nationally (103rd).
 
Shutting Out The Opposition
UTEP has blanked two of its four opponents (50.0 percent-second CUSA/59th NCAA) while yielding a total of three goals total in four games played. That has helped the Miners stand at +2 (5-3) for goal differential, which is good enough for fourth in the league.
 
Matter Of Time For Zeta
UTEP forward Zeta McDannels and GK Savanah Finley are the only Miner freshmen to have started a match this year, and both have been in the starting XI for all four contests. McDannels, who had 79 goals during her outstanding prep career, is still seeking her first at the collegiate level but it is only a matter of time. She is second on the squad for shots (seven) while sharing second on the team for shots on goal (three).
Defending Without Fouling
Co-captain Ashlyn Neireiter, who has started every match on the back line for UTEP, is the lone field player to log all 360 minutes of action. She has been a key cog of a defensive unit that has only allowed two goals in the run of play (only other on a PK), but incredibly she has yet to commit a foul. Fellow co-captain and defender Kaila Hudson has followed suit in that department, being tagged for just two infractions in her three starts.  
 
Consistency In The Starting XI
Eight different Miners (Savanah Finley, Zeta McDannels, Ashlee Mora, Ashlyn Neireiter, Ana Quintero, Mina Rodriguez, Olivia Roskos and Maya Vitoria) have started all four matches on the season, giving head coach Gibbs Keeton a quality foundation to begin each game with. Kaila Hudson, Anai Lopez and Hayden McMillan have earned a trio of starting nods. That sort of consistency in the starting XI will help UTEP more and more as the year progresses as more on-pitch chemistry builds.
 
Gotta Match The Physicality
For whatever reason, there has been an added level of physicality with the Miners' games this year. Both UTEP and the opposition have been tagged with seven cautions. There have also been 40 fouls against the Orange and Blue and 37 by opponents in the four games played.
 
Honor Thy Captains
The Miners appointed co-captains for the 2025 season, with defenders Kaila Hudson and Ashlyn Neireiter sharing the honors.
 
Taking Notice Of Ashlyn
Ashlyn Neireiter was voted to the Preseason All-Conference USA Team, the league office revealed on Aug. 7. The junior was tabbed as one of four defenders on the 11-player squad, making her the first Miner to be so distinguished since forward Vic Bohdan was selected in 2018. She was the lone UTEP player to start every match last season while also topping the squad in in minutes played (1518). That was nearly 400 more minutes earned than the next individual on the team.
 
Double Trouble
UTEP has two sets of twins on the 2025 roster (freshmen Damaris Cisneros and Yesenia Cisneros and seniors Kaila Hudson and Kialie Hudson), in addition to three other individuals with twin sisters (junior Eve Barry, freshman Ava Grosso and sophomore Sarina Villa Cuellar).
 
30th Season Of UTEP Soccer
The 2025 campaign marks the 30th season in program history. The Miners boast an all-time record of 283-232-50, including 176-78-22 at University Field (elevation of 4,200 feet).
 
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