The Herd women’s soccer team were shut out in the second half Thursday night at Hoops Family Field against UTEP; with a final score of 3-2.

Marshall dropped to 2-8-0 on the season.

“It happened in the blink of an eye,” Head Coach Kevin Long said. “The first half I felt that we controlled play and had some quality chances, but we started the second half flat.”

The contest boiled down to the first couple of minutes in the second half. The Miners came out of the gate attacking fast and found the net twice in the opening two minutes. One of the goals was a mishap on Marshall that led to a self-goal and the second came from sophomore forward Jojo Ngongo a minute later.

After capturing the lead for the first time, the Miners played safe and used the clock to its advantage.

Marshall started off the game strong and firing on all cylinders that quickly found success when senior forward Marah Abu-Tayeh nailed the back of the net for the second time this season in the seventh minute.

UTEP found its footing as senior defender Lauren Crenshaw was awarded a penalty kick in the 15th minute and struck the lower right side of the net to equalize contest at one.

Marshall’s offensive prowl continued later in the first half as senior forward Farah Abu-Tayeh raced up the left side of the field and struck a shot on goal. The ball was deflected but paved the way for freshman midfielder Julia Schukle to tap the ball in to recapture the lead in the 21st minute.

Marshall had plenty of scoring opportunities to find the net having seven corner kicks compared to UTEP’s four, but could not take advantage. UTEP edged Marshall in shots on goal with 11 and the Herd with 10.

“We had double digits shots for the first time in a while,” Long said. “That is a step in the right direction. We know we can attack, and our players can be goal scoring threats at anytime, so that’s the good news going forward.”

Despite UTEP scoring three times, sophomore goalkeeper Lindsay Langley recorded seven saves in the game.

The Herd travel to take on Florida International University Sunday Sept. 29 at 1 p.m. next before returning home for three consecutive games at Hoops Family Field.

Brigham Warf can be contacted at [email protected].