by Justin Goodrum
Daily Lobo
Coming off two close home losses, the UNM women's soccer team bounced back with a 4-0 win over the UTEP Miners on Sunday.
After losing to No. 8 Texas, 2-1, and No. 24 Purdue, 1-0, in its last two games, UNM (4-3-0) earned one of its biggest victories of the season against UTEP.
The Miners were 6-1-0 coming into Sunday's match.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Terryn Granados, who had an assist, said playing as a unit contributed the most to the win.
"We were looking to keep the ball wide, hit passes and stay compact as a team," Granados said.
UNM head coach Kit Vela said the plan was to treat the game like any other.
Both team's emotions ran high as the Miners' Brandi Aston received two yellow cards and was ejected in the second half.
The Lobos' Asha Richardson and the UNM bench received yellow cards.
Alanna Abeyta said the Lobos were standing their ground.
"We're not a laid-back team," Abeyta said. "If somebody gets hit, then we're going to be there for each other."
Vela said the team was able to focus and control its emotions.
"We didn't back down. We didn't take it personally," she said. "It was just a game."
It was the eighth meeting between the two teams, and the Lobos improved to 3-5-0 all time in the series. Sunday's victory was the first time UNM beat the Miners since 1997.
UNM's offense was able to work through a solid UTEP defense for the four goals. In its five previous games, UTEP had not allowed a single goal.
The Lobos put pressure on the UTEP defense for most of the first half with multiple breakaway chances.
Meanwhile, the Miners had a tougher time getting through the Lobo defense, with six shots on goal compared to the Lobos' 10. UNM finished with 19 shots on goal, while UTEP managed eight.
The Lobo offense capitalized on its opportunities with a goal in the 13th minute by midfielder Katelyn Ley. The junior led the Lobo offense for much of the game, scoring two goals and adding an assist.
UNM went into the intermission with a 1-0 lead but came out aggressive in the second half.
Richardson padded the Lobo lead with a header in the 63rd minute.
Even with a 2-0 lead, the offense continued to push the tempo, leading to an Abeyta header in the 69th minute.
At the 74:20 mark, Ley put in her second goal of the match on a rebound shot.
Granados said the Lobos need to stay focused and not get overconfident after the big victory.
"We can't take this win and then not work hard," Granados said.
