Cinderella run ends in title game loss

The glass slipper was so close to fitting. Entering the Conference-USA Tournament as a seven seed, UTEP upset second-seeded Colorado College Nov. 2, won in penalty kicks against sixth-seeded Rice Nov. 4, but fell just short to nationally-ranked No. 4 Memphis 2-1 in the second overtime in the C-USA Championship game.

"We did not go away because the girls play with so much heart," head coach Kevin Cross said. "They are fighters and never quit. This fighting mentality is a quality the program had always prided itself in having."

The Tigers, the host of the postseason tournament, possessed the ball nearly the entire game, but UTEP's freshman goalkeeper Sarah Dilling made every effort to keep the Miners in the game.

"My confidence has increased a lot since the beginning of the season and I would say that was one of the key things that allowed me to play so well," Dilling said. "My defense also played really well, which helped me out a lot. They definitely did well in limiting the shots that the opposing teams were able to get. "

After UTEP held Memphis to a 1-1 tie in regulation, the two headed into overtime. The Miners were outshot 22-7 in the first 90 minutes, including 11-3 in shots on goal.

The first 10 minutes of extra time resulted in the same score, but in the 103rd minute, the Tigers clinched their spot in the NCAA Tournament. Freshman forward/midfielder Kaitlyn Atkins received a pass from C-USA Offensive Player of the Year and sophomore midfielder Christabel Oduro in the middle of the field. After Oduro won the ball near the corner, Atkins beat the keeper as she cut down the middle for the game-winning score.

After Dilling stopped three of four penalty kicks against Rice, Cross was confident his team would have taken the match in penalty kicks.

"Everyone did feel that (Dilling) was in the zone and that we could have won in penalties.  We were seven minutes away, unfortunately," Cross said.

After a scoreless first half, it was Oduro who was able to give Memphis the game's first score in the 58th minute. Oduro showed why she deserved to be the tournament's Most Valuable Offensive Player, too. She spun around her defender and scored in the far post for her conference-leading 12th goal of the season.

UTEP had an answer in the 74th minute when junior forward Tess Hall's pass into the box found junior forward Brittany Kindzierski, who tied the game at one.

Senior midfielder Katie Dorman, Dilling and Kindzierski were named to the all-tournament team.

"It was definitely a positive way to end. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to win so bad. We all did but I know we fought as a team," Dorman said. "We really did and that is such a good feeling. Getting to that last game is definitely the highlight of my career."

The Miners entered the tournament on a six-game winless streak, going 0-4-2 in that span.

During that time, UTEP started the streak with a 2-2 tie to Rice, a 3-0 loss to Memphis and a 1-0 loss to Colorado College. This may be attributed to the multiple injuries the team went through, such as Hall and senior defender Jessie Pettit.

"We were fortunate to get Tess back on the field. She was not at 100 percent in the tournament, but she gave us all that she had," Cross said. "Her ankle was still sore where she could not take set pieces as normal. She gave us much needed depth and provided us with the big assist versus Memphis.  Tess is our playmaker, so her injury really took a toll on the team."

Both players returned for the tournament. Pettit played in the regular season finale Oct. 28 against Colorado College and may have provided a spark for a UTEP team with an 11 to 13-player rotation.

The Miners lost three players to graduation, but may return up to nine freshmen and sophomores who saw significant playing time this year. The juniors are Hall, Kindzierski and forward Skye Schultz, who redshirted this year, meaning she will return as a junior next season.

William Vega may be reached at prospector@utep.edu