The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics

Women's Soccer Drops 2-1 Match At UTEP
10/5/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 5, 2008
EL PASO, Texas - The UAB women's soccer team fell to the UTEP Miners, 2-1, Sunday afternoon at University Field. Freshman Carolyn Polcari scored the lone goal for the Blazers in the 56th minute of the contest.
UAB moves to 3-9 overall and 1-3 in Conference USA games. UTEP improves to 9-4 on the year and 2-2 in league play.
UTEP struck first with the lone goal of the first half when Jo Radcliffe headed in a goal in the 57th minute off a free kick by Cara Nordin, putting the Miners up 1-0 at the half.
UAB responded in the 56th minute when Polcari knocked in her second goal of the season to tie the game at 1-1. UTEP added a second goal in the 62nd minute by Chelsea Winbush, assisted by Nordin, to give the Miners the 2-1 win over the Blazers.
"We played very well today," said UAB head coach Paul Harbin. "Unfortunately, we had a couple of small mistakes that they capitalized on."
UAB recorded 14 shots on the day, including seven shots on goal. The Miners were held to just three shots on goal during the game.
Polcari paced UAB in shots with five, including two on goal. Sophomore Marie Yempuku and freshmen Tiffini Turpin and Laura McCalla added two shots each to the Blazers' total.
Radcliffe and Katie Dorman led UTEP with two shots apiece. Three other players contributed one shot each for the Miners.
Sophomore goalkeeper Kate Blankenship received the loss in the net for UAB, allowing two goals and making on save on the day. Sara Kaltwasser earned the win in goal for UTEP, tallying six saves against the Blazers.
"Overall, I thought we held the advantage in just about every facet of the game, including dominating in possession from start to finish," said Harbin. "There were significant periods of time where we kept them from crossing midfield. We also took double the amount of shots that they did and we limited them to just three shots on goal. I felt good about those things."
UAB will return home for a pair of C-USA games next weekend. The Blazers will host Rice on Friday evening at 7 p.m., followed by a 2 p.m. match with Houston on Sunday. Both games will be played at UAB's West Campus Field.
"I think we can build on this game," said Harbin. "I felt good about how we played for the most part. I am confident that if we continue playing this way, that we will have positive results."