Miners to co-host Third-Annual Border Bash with NM State

   Coming home from the UC Riverside Invitational, the Miners were handed their second loss of the season in an overtime game against the Riverside Highlanders, with a final score of 3-2 on Sept. 2.

“We made a few mistakes this weekend, but we know what we have to improve on, and we know we can do it,” sophomore midfielder Mackenzie German said. “We are just going to come into our next games with a positive attitude and do what we have to win. We are going to fix the little details that we need to fix and play with determination.”

Shaking off the loss, the Miners are ready to get back in the game and back on the field.

Teaming up with UTEP’s rival, New Mexico State, the Miners will be co-hosting the Third-Annual Border Bash with the Aggies Sept. 7 and 9.

This particular tournament was created by the teaming of UTEP’s head coach, Kevin Cross and former NM State head coach, Michael Needham back in 2009, when the Aggies initiated their women’s soccer program.

The Border Bash is a weekend of two games, where the Miners and the Aggies face off against two other teams. This year both teams will play Weber State who is 0-4 and Sam Houston State who is 2-4.

The Miners are coming into the Border Bash with a 4-2 record, while NM State sits at a 1-2 record.

Having been successful in the previous years of this tournament, the Miners have what it takes to capture first place, but they understand that they must always be ready for anything and never underestimate the competition.

“For this tournament, we are training extremely hard, eliminating the mistakes and playing better as a team,” Cross said. “We are looking for a win but everything has to go your way for that to happen. You have to be healthy, and play your very best soccer. There is potential to win but everything has to align perfectly and we have to play our very best.”

With a competitive line up, the Miners are supporting their field skills with strategy, quick adjustments against their opponents and most importantly focus.

“We want to be playing our very best soccer this weekend, because this three game stretch are the last games before conference,” Cross said. “Our strategy is to put it all together, get all the details covered and play the best soccer we have played all preseason long. We need to stay focused for 90 minutes because we know if one player loses concentration, the ball can be in the back of the net. So as a team, all coaches, all players, as a team need to have a 90-minute focus.”

The Third-Annual Border Bash being their last games of the preseason, the Miners plan to take full advantage of the opportunity to make any corrections and prepare them for conference play.

“Any game helps,” junior forward Jade Babcok said. “Basically, we are going to look at all these preseason games like a practice for conference. These games show a lot so we are just working on the things we need to work on and trying to learn from the mistakes we are making now so they don’t happen during conference.”

Audrey Westcott may be reached at prospector@utep.edu.