MINERS

UTEP Soccer Newsletter: October 2010

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That's The Way To Start C-USA Play

UTEP continued its sizzling start to the 2010 season with a pair of impressive victories in the opening weekend of Conference USA Play. The Miners (9-1-0, 2-0-0 C-USA) toppled UAB, 3-1, on Sept. 24. They were just getting warmed up, though, with the squad besting No. 25 Memphis on Sept. 26.

As result the Miners find themselves in a tie for first place in C-USA The win against the Lady Tigers was certainly a big one, as evidenced by the emotion shown in postgame interviews courtesy of MinerIllustrated.

C-USA Honors C-USA Honors C-USA Honors

Taking Out Ranked Teams

Thanks to the 2-1 defeat of No. 25 Memphis UTEP moved to 4-0-0 at home against nationally-ranked teams under Kevin Cross.

Other victories against ranked foes at University Field under Cross include derailing No. 25 Colorado College, 2-0 on Oct. 21, 2006, taking down No. 17 Rice, 1-0, on Oct. 8, 2006 and bouncing No. 20 SMU, 3-2, in OT on Oct. 22, 2004.

C-USA Honors C-USA Honors C-USA Honors

A National Matter

UTEP (9-1-0) has stormed out of the gates in 2010, and as result it is making a name for itself nationally. The Miners are accounting for 3.8 goals per game which makes them the No. 1 offense in the nation The team as a whole, not to mention inviduals are thriving across the board, evidenced by the Miners' national ranking summary as provided by the NCAA.

Additionally, the Miners have climbed to 29th nationally according to TopDrawerSoccer.com while they are back in the NSCAA Central Region Rankings..

National Matter National Matter National Matter

C-USA Honors Piling Up

UTEP is 9-1-0 on the year, including 2-0-0 in league play, making it the top team thus far in Conference USA play. As it often goes in sports, when you have team success everything else takes care of itself. That is certainly the case for the Miners, who swept the C-USA Player of the Week Awards on Sept. 27 to bring their seasonal tally to five.

Chandra Morden has secured it twice, taking it home the first week of play. She also was recognized for her great play in the opening week for the C-USA slate. The other defensive honor on the year came as result of a career performance.

The leading scorer in C-USA took home the weekly offensive honor on Sept. 6 while the second-leading scorer took home the weekly offensive honor on Sept. 27

C-USA Honors C-USA Honors C-USA Honors

UTEP Returns To Regional Rankings

The Miners have already downed a pair of teams which competed in the NCAA tournament last year. The first was a a 1-0 defeat of 2008 & 2009 NCAA Tournament participant Northern Arizona, 1-0. As result of that victory, UTEP earned placement in the first NSCAA Central Region Rankings.

The Miners have continued to sizzle since then, most-recently downing No. 25 Memphis, 2-1. Thanks to that win, the Miners returned to the Regional Rankings. The Miners have been regionally-ranked at some point in the year for a school-record seven straight seasons and in eight of head coach Kevin Cross' 10 years.

Regional Ranking Regional Ranking Regional Ranking

Miners Making Waves In The Media

UTEP is blessed to receive tremendous coverage from the local media. One such sign of that was a front-page feature article on a UTEP senior standout. Other examples include a TV report on the C-USA player of the Week awards from a local station's broadcast on Sept. 27, a recap of the Miners' win vs. NAU in their season opener and a well-written piece on the win against No. 25 Memphis

UTEP Media UTEP Media UTEP Media

Business As Usual For Non-League Play

The Miners rolled to a mark of 7-1-0 in non-league play to extend their school record to nine straight years with a winning mark in non-league play. The Miners are 77-29-2 in non-league play under head coach Kevin Cross' direction, a vast improvement of the combined non-conference ledger of 32-30-5 during Veronica O'Brien's era. The Miners opened the year in fine fashion by toppling 2008 & 2009 NCAA Tournament participant Northern Arizona, 1-0 .

UTEP started the current nine- game-winning streak by posting a convincing 3-1 victory vs. Utah Valley University. which was followed by the thrilling 2-1 OT triumph at Stephen F. Austin. The Miners capped a perfect weekend on the road with a dominant 5-1 rout of Houston Baptist. UTEP took things to a new level on the final weekend of non-conference action. The Miners overcame a physical style of play to manhandle Lamar, 6-1.. UTEP then capped the Border Bash by stomping Alabama A&M, 12-1..

Strong Start Strong Start Strong Start

This Is UTEP Soccer

For those who need a crash course on UTEP soccer, you've come to the right place. The Miners have been embraced by El Paso, and they have rewarded the faithful by turning into a league and regional power. Consider the following accomplishments under head coach Kevin Cross (as of start of the 2010 season):

  • Conference USA best 75 wins since joining the league in 2005
  • Racked up 114 victories to tie for 13th nationally since 2002
  • Scored 428 goals to place eighth in the country since 2002
  • Garnered the No. 2 RPI in the state of Texas in 2009
  • Won a school-record and C-USA-best-tying 20 games in 2005
  • Beat Texas, 3-2, on the road in OT to advance to the second round of the '05 NCAA Tournament
  • Earned a regional ranking for a school-record six straight years
  • Represented on the all-conference team 22 times
  • Accounted for 11 of the 12 all-region honorees in school history
  • Claimed 41 athletic weekly awards. UTEP had four such awards in five years before Cross' tenure.

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    Katie Dorman Anoop Josan Melissa Desilets

    El Paso, Texas: Now The Second-Safest Big City In The Nation

    The city of El Paso has been ranked as the second-safest big city in the United States in a report by the CQ Press. Therefore, student-athletes on the UTEP soccer team are able to pursue their academic endeavors and play soccer that not only has great weather (318 days of sunshine per year) but is also very safe
    Top 10 Safest Cities In The Nation Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities In The Nation

    1. Honolulu, Hawaii

    		 1. Detroit, Mich.
    2. EL PASO, TEXAS 2. Memphis, Tenn.
    3. New York, N.Y. 3. Baltimore, Md.
    4. San Josa, Calif. 4. Washington, D.C.
    5. Austin, Texas 5. Atlanta, Ga.
    6. San Diego, Calif. 6. Philadelphia, Pa.
    7. Seattle, Wash. 7. Indianapolis, Ind.
    8. Portland, Ore. 8. Columbus, Ohio
    9. Denver, Colo. 9. Milwaukee, Wis.
    10. Los Angeles, Calif. 10. Dallas, Texas

    El Paso Folklore Downtown skyline Fireworks at festival
    UTEP Athletics