Stephen F. Austin
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UTEP
SFA Falls To UTEP
8/28/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Aug. 28, 2009
EL PASO, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack soccer team put together a strong second half but was unable to recover from a slow start in Friday's 4-1 loss to UT-El Paso on the first day of the UTEP Miner Classic.
The Miners put up two goals in the first half and held the SFA (1-1-0) attack in check for the first 45 minutes of action. UTEP moves to 2-0-0 with the verdict.
"This was that first big Friday night game on the road for many on the team," SFA head coach George Van Linder said. "We have learned a lot from this, and we will respond to this. It was frustrating but educational."
The Miners were aggressive early, firing four shots in the first 10 minutes. The fifth one paid off when Tess Hall scored in the 10th minute. She took a through ball from Skye Schultz and made a move to get herself free for her first goal of the season.
SFA managed to slow the UTEP attack and allowed just two shots over the next 20 minutes. But Jo Radcliffe beat SFA goalkeeper Courtney Bauder with a low shot in the 30th minute to give the Miners a 2-0 lead. Hall was credited on the assist.
Meanwhile, SFA was unable to generate any offense in the early going. The Ladyjacks' first shot didn't come until the 36th minute, when senior Megan Cash put one on goal. UTEP 'keeper Sara Kaltwasser recorded the save.
Freshman Laura Sadler fired a shot on goal in 42nd minute, but it, too, was turned away, and the Miners took their 2-0 lead to halftime. UTEP held a 10-2 edge in shots at the break, but just a 3-2 advantage in shots on goal.
"Credit UTEP, they came out on fire," Van Linder said. "We were intense but couldn't match it. We got better, and then they would answer."
In the opening moments of the second period, the Ladyjacks were the aggressors, blasting five shots on goal in the first 13 minutes, while holding the Miners without a shot attempt. That intensity paid dividends in the 59th minute, when Cash rebounded a saved shot off the foot of freshman Kylie Louw and beat Kaltwasser for her first goal of the season. Louw was credited with an assist on the play.
UTEP recovered and found its legs after the goal. Chelsea Winbush hit the post with a shot in the 60th minute, and Tameka Sumter stretched the Miners' lead back out to two goals when she scored from close range just 15 seconds later.
SFA responded seconds later with a shot on goal by junior Camille Royer, but the Ladyjacks would not find the back of the net again. Louw's shot off the crossbar in the 80th minute was as close as they would come. Schultz set the final tally just two minutes later when she scored on a loose-ball scramble in the box.
After SFA out-shot the Miners, 9-6, in the second frame, UTEP finished with a 16-11 margin in shots. The Ladyjacks registered nine shots on goal to five for the Miners. UTEP enjoyed a 5-0 edge in corner kicks.
Bauder moved to 1-1-0 with one save in the loss.
The Ladyjacks will continue action in the Miner Classic on Sunday morning, when they take on Utah State. The game is scheduled to start at 11 a.m., central time. The Aggies took a 3-2 win over Texas Tech Friday afternoon in the tournament's first game.
-- SFA --
