EL PASO, TEXAS – Junior Angela Cutaia scored twice (47:14 and 69:41), including a goal to break a 1-1 tie midway through the second half, and the UTEP soccer team defeated Houston Baptist, 2-1, to claim the title at the Fifth-Annual Border Bash at University Field Sunday afternoon. The Miners (4-0-1), playing for the fifth time in nine days, showed tremendous grit to hold off the upset-minded Huskies (1-3-0) in near triple-digit temperatures.

UTEP is unbeaten through five games for the first occasion since 2008 and fifth time overall in program history.

“It was not the best game that we have played,” UTEP head coach Kevin Cross said. “We showed a lot of guts to grind out and find a way to win. We responded after allowing a goal. We’ve had a lot of games in a short amount of time and it was really hot today.”

Senior goalkeeper Sarah Dilling recorded two saves while also making a couple other plays off her line to key the efforts for the defense, which finally yielded a goal after 452:26 minutes of scoreless soccer to start the season. HBU’s Natalie Hager was the culprit, besting Dilling with a header on a bouncing ball from Lindsay Matlock’s throw-in to equal the match in the 67th minute.

UTEP answered almost immediately, with Cutaia burying a loose ball in the box off freshman Carmen Webster’s cross. Cutaia had afforded UTEP a 1-0 lead early on in the second half, hammering home the header from sophomore Hannah Nicholson’s corner kick service. The helper marked Nicholson’s fifth of the year, and it was the sixth score on the season in the situation for the Orange and Blue.

Shots (11-6), shots on goal (6-3) and corner kicks (12-1) all favored UTEP, which pushed its winning streak to four. The 12 corner kicks are the most by a Miner team since 2005 and tie as the third-highest sum in program history.

The first good sequence of soccer came with in the eighth minute, with Cutaia nearly linking up with Bri Thomas. Thomas’s run was clinical but the HBU defense won the service. Three minutes later it was Cutaia who was the intended target of a UTEP offensive attack. She did well to hold off the defense and win the ball in space before blasting a shot that HBU netminder Pattay Walrath managed to push high. HBU successfully defended the ensuing corner.

UTEP continued to possess as the half wore on, but the Huskies stood firm. HBU had its first chance of the contest after a foul deep in Miner territory. There was some sloppy defending by the home side, with the ball bouncing through the ball box completely untouched. It trickled over the end line to set up a goal kick for UTEP.

The Orange and Blue asserted themselves in the 25th minute, holding good defensive shape to wipe away a potential breakaway for the visitors on an offside call.

With temperatures resting just shy of 100 degrees, the pace of place slowed for the latter portion of the stanza. UTEP found a second wind, though, in the waning minutes of the period to turn up the heat offensively on the Huskies. UTEP earned a pair of corner kicks in the final 1:32, including one the result of a diving save by Walrath to deny Tayler O’Hayre’s low, hard shot at 43:37.

Having recharged their batteries during the break, the Miners went back to work. They would be rewarded for their efforts quickly, getting on the board less than three minutes into the second half. On a corner kick Nicholson, Cutaia got herself from the defense and elevated above everyone to hammer home the header. Walrath had no chance on the play, with the ball rocketing into the upper, left portion of the goal.

Dilling then made two big-time plays to preserve the 1-0 cushion, though neither will show up in the box score. First she punched a brilliant cross away before two minutes later intercepting a thru ball with a sliding stop.

UTEP then got back ono the act offensively with a corner kick. The ball was put into the mixer, landing at the foot of Nicole Lindsay. She drilled a shot that was blocked by the defense but HBU couldn’t clear. It ended up with Cutaia, who was denied by Walrath at 59:28.

Cutaia bested Walrath in the 66th minute with a brilliant rip but the shot clanked cruelly off the crossbar.

The close call proved costly 70 seconds later with the visitors finding the equalizer.

UTEP regrouped nicely, though, regaining its advantage just 2:04 later. The Miners then closed out the contest in style, earning five corner kicks over the final 17 minutes of action. HBU recorded only one shot in the stretch, a try by Hager that was wide at 89:05.

UTEP will now get a chance to rest up before returning to action at home against Southern Utah at 7 p.m. MT Friday. There will be free admission to the contest.

For timely updates on the UTEP soccer program, please like the team on Facebook and follow it on Twitter.

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