Oct. 4, 2009

Final Stats | Box Score (PDF)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Sophomore forward Tiffini Turpin (Birmingham, Ala.) scored the lone goal of the game in the 92nd minute to lead the UAB women's soccer team to a 1-0 overtime victory over Conference USA foe UTEP on Sunday afternoon at West Campus Field.

The Blazers' record improved to 8-4-0 overall and 2-2-0 in C-USA. The Miners suffered their first conference loss of the year as their record moved to 9-3-0 overall, including a 3-1-0 mark in league play.

After battling to a 0-0 score in regulation, the two teams went into overtime. Just over two minutes into the overtime period, Turpin dribbled the ball downfield, through two Miner defenders, and knocked it past the goalkeeper to give UAB the 1-0 victory.

"UTEP is always a high-energy team that plays an emotional game," said UAB head coach Paul Harbin. "It's easy to get caught up in UTEP's game and lose your composure, and it was nice to see us not lose focus today.

"Early in the game, I thought we match UTEP's intensity, but we also played to their style a little bit. I thought we did a much better job in the second half. We still match their intensity, but we were also able to get the ball down, move it around and possess. Once we did that, I think the game shifted our way.

"We still have to get better at finishing our opportunities. We had a lot of chances. I think we could have scored three or four goals today if we would have finished those chances that we had."

UAB held a slight advantage in shots, 14-12, while both teams took four shots on goal apiece. The Blazers were led in shots by senior forward/midfielder Danya Barsalona with five. Turpin added three shots, while three additional players chipped in two shots each for UAB.

Tameka Sumter took a team-best four shots for UTEP, while Tess Hall and Chelsea Winbush contributed two shots each to the Miners' total.

UAB junior goalkeeper Kate Blankenship nabbed four saves against the Miners on her way to her fifth shutout of the season. Chandra Morden received the loss in goal for UTEP, recording three saves and allowing one goal against the Blazers.

The Blazers' next outing will be on Friday when they travel to Houston, Texas to take on Rice. Kickoff between UAB and Rice is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT.

"We played two of the top teams in the conference this weekend in Colorado College and UTEP," said Harbin. "Now we are 2-2 in a league that is so balanced and anybody can beat anybody. With only six teams making the conference tournament, we need to get every win that we can."