Sept. 14, 2008

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Logan, Utah - Sophomore Lauren Hansen scored a goal and an assist to help the Aggies move to 3-0-1 at home with a 2-1 win over UTEP on Sunday at Chuck and Gloria Bell Soccer Field.

With the win Utah State is now 3-4-1, while the Miners fall to 5-2 with the loss. This was the Aggies' first-ever win over the Miners. UTEP still holds the all-time advantage 2-1.

The Miners took the lead in the 11th minute when Cara Nordin took the give and go from Katie Dorman and slipped the ball just out of reach of freshman goalkeeper Molli Merrill. This was the third match that Merrill has played in and her first career start. She ended the match with four saves.

In the 28th minute, the Aggies tied the scored on sophomore Lauren Hansen's third goal of the season. Hansen took the pass from freshman Chandra Salmon and shot the ball to an open goal with Miner goalkeeper Chandra Morden pulled out of the goal. The assist was Salmon's first collegiate assist.

"We did what we needed to do," Hansen said. "We possessed right; we held the ball. We were able to connect with each other unlike games before. One of our team goals is to not have two losses in a weekend. So we just focused on that. UTEP is a very good team, and this just help us boost our confidence especially after the Utah game where we didn't do as well."

Less than four minutes later, the Aggies scored the game-winning goal. Once again, a Salmon was involved as junior Erin Salmon scored her second goal of the season. Hansen got the ball to Salmon who shot the ball from almost the same spot as the first Aggie goal. Hansen now takes the Utah State lead in points with seven off of three goals and an assist.

"The first half wasn't bad, but they were definitely taking it to us," USU head coach Heather Cairns said. "At one point I looked up and we had two goals on two shots. We were fortunate enough to be able to score. I have to give our team credit. We have been struggling to find our character. We have been struggling to find our collective ability to battle. Coming back from a one-goal deficit showed a lot of character."

Utah State will remain at home for two home matches next week. The Aggies will face Texas-San Antonio on Sept. 18 and Long Beach State on Sept. 21at Chuck and Gloria Bell Field. This is the first meeting between UT-San Antonio and USU. Long Beach State holds a 6-2 series lead over the Aggies. Admission to Utah State soccer matches is free.

Live stats will be available for the matches against UT-San Antonio and Long Beach State through the women's soccer page on www.utahstateaggies.com, by clicking on GameTracker in the current events box.

UTEP (5-2) vs. Utah State (3-4-1)Date: Sept. 14, 2008  Attendance: 317Weather: Sunny and warm, high 70s
SCORING SUMMARYGoal    Time    Team    Goal Scorer         Assists         Description1.  11:00   UTEP    Nordin, Cara        Dorman, Katie   give and go from 8 out2.  27:38   USU     Hansen, Lauren (3)   Salmon, Chandra    14 yards to open goal3.  31:10   USU     Salmon, Erin (2)   Hansen, Lauren   14 yards out from left side past GK
Shots By Period          1   2   TotalUTEP            7   3   10Utah State      4   11  15
Corner kicks             1   2   TotalUTEP            4   0   4Utah State      3   4   7
Saves by period      1   2   TotalUTEP            1   4   5Utah State      3   1   4
Fouls            1   2   TotalUTEP            6   4   10Utah State      5   8   13