EL PASO, Texas – The UTEP soccer team (3-5-1) will lock up at LA Tech (1-8-1) in the Conference USA opener for both teams at 6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT Friday. It is the lone game of the week for the Miners, who will then have three straight at home.
The match will be streamed on
ESPN+ while live stats will be available through
Stat Broadcast.
Get To Know LA Tech
Following a 1-1-1 start to the season, including a win over in-state rival Louisiana (W, 2-0, 8/21), LA Tech has dropped seven straight to head into Friday's matchup with an overall record of 1-8-1. It has been outscored 23-5 on the season, which has been hindered by a 16-0 differential during the skid. The Bulldogs' record and stats, however, are deceiving. They have played a difficult schedule, with three matches against power-conference programs. Furthermore, four of their opponents (No. 20 Oklahoma, 3.0-seventh, Mississippi State, 2.43-30th, Alabama, 2.33-40th and South Alabama, 2.29-43rd) rank among the top-50 nationally for scoring offense. LA Tech has been much stronger at home (1-3-1) than the road (0-5), including finding the back of the net twice against the Crimson Tide. Cadence Rutledge has been busy in net, leading the league and rating among the top-15 nationally for both saves per game (6.44-13th) and total saves (58-fourth). She has logged 810:00 minutes between the pipes, which ties for second in CUSA and gives her a share of ninth nationally for most minutes played by a GK. Madison Pensom leads the way offensively with four points (one goal, two assists) while four other individuals have found the back of the net. Four different players have registered at least 10 shots. Leading the way is Ashley Leonhart, who paces the squad in both shots (20) and shots on goal (13).
Series History With LA Tech
UTEP is 3-4-3 all-time against LA Tech, including topping the Bulldogs, 2-1, at University Field in the most-recent meeting (10/19/24). All three of the Miners' victories in the series have come at home, affording the Orange and Blue the chance to make history Friday night. UTEP is undefeated (1-0-1) against LA Tech under head coach
Gibbs Keeton, but it is still in search of its first ever win against the Bulldogs in Ruston (0-4-1). Every meeting in the series has occurred since 2013.
Kicking Off CUSA Play
UTEP's match at LA Tech marks the start of its 21st and final year as a Conference USA member. The Orange and Blue are 11-6-3 in league lid lifters, including 5-3-2 when doing so on the road. The Miners will be aiming for their first victory in the league opener since the Covid-impacted 2020 season (played in spring 2021). Coincidentally, it came against LA Tech (W, 2-1, 2/28/21). The last time that the Orange and Blue emerged victorious when starting conference play on the road was in 2018 (W, 2-0, at FIU, 9/16/18).
Mainly Playing Close Games
Aside from a 4-0 dismantling of Texas Southern (8/17) and a 4-1 setback at Arizona State (9/12), things have continued to be very tight this year. Six games have been decided by a goal while there has been one tie (0-0, at UCR, 8/21). Heading into CUSA play, 32 out of 42 total matches during the
Gibbs Keeton tenure have been either one-goal games (23 times) or ties (nine).
Quintero Scores Again
Sophomore
Ana Quintero tallied her team-leading third goal of the season in the setback at Arizona State on Sept. 12. She now boasts eight career goals as a Miner after having produced five in her first year in the Orange and Blue. If she can find the back of the net against LA Tech Friday, it would mark the second time in her young career to score in consecutive contests. She achieved the feat last year against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (9/5/24) and at New Mexico (9/8/24). The Miners are now 4-2-1 in matches when Quintero puts away an opportunity.
Shots Keep Coming Too
Ana Quintero registered a match-high tying three shots at Arizona State, with two getting on target. One of those beat the Sun Devils' netminder to tie the tilt before ASU pulled away late. She continues to lead CUSA and rank in the top-30 for shots per game (3.89-first) while placing second in the league and 27th in the country for shots on goal per contest (1.89).
Mora Called Back To U-20 Mexico National Team
Ashlee Mora was recently called back to the U-20 Mexico National Team. It marked the third time that she has been invited to train with the squad, all of which have occurred since April 2025.
Youth Movement
UTEP has relied heavily on underclassmen in 2025, with freshmen and sophomores accounting for 57.7 percent (5,141 of 8,910 minutes) of the possible playing time. Four of the top five on the list for most minutes logged are underclassmen. Freshman GK
Savanah Finley has competed in every minute of each match in the frame, while fellow classmate
Zeta McDannels (703-78.8 mpg) and sophomores
Sarina Villa Cuellar (657-73.0 mpg) and
Ana Quintero (653-72.6 mpg) round out the top five. The lone upperclassman on the list is co-captain
Ashlyn Neireiter, who has yet to be subbed out this season.
Finley One Shutout Shy Of UTEP Single-Season Top-10
Freshman standout
Savanah Finley has produced four clean sheets on the year (tied second CUSA/tied 18th NCAA). She is one short of cracking the school's single-season top-10 list for shutouts. Furthermore, Finley is three shy of equaling the most in a campaign by a Miner freshman GK.
Emily Parrott registered seven as a true freshman in 2019.
Taking All The Minutes
UTEP freshman GK
Savanah Finley has started and played every minute of every match this season. Her 810 minutes logged ties for second in Conference USA among netminders, while also giving her a share of ninth nationally. She has performed exceptionally, posting a 1.0 GAA, which is just shy of the top-100 nationally. Her four shutouts share second in the league and are also tied for 18th in the NCAA. Finley is the first Miner freshman netminder with multiple shutouts in a season since
Emily Parrott (seven, 2019). She also is the initial UTEP freshman GK to start in the opener dating to Parrott's run in 2019.
Defending Cleanly
Co-captain
Ashlyn Neireiter, who has started every match on the back line for UTEP, is the lone field player to log all 810 minutes of action. She has been a key cog of a defensive unit that has only allowed four goals in the run of play (one other on a PK), but incredibly she committed just one foul.
Spreading The Wealth For Match Winners
UTEP's three triumphs have come on match winners from three different players (
Eve Barry,
Ashlyn Neireiter and
Ana Quintero).
Unselfish Soccer
UTEP has scored eight goals on nine assists, with every tally this year being set up by at least one player. The nine helpers are the most by the Miners since 2022 (13).
Mina Rodriguez has been credited with two assists to lead the way. She is one shy of matching her personal single-season high (three), achieved both in 2022 and 2024.
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 285-235-50, including 176-78-22 at University Field (elevation of 4,200 feet).
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