ALPINE, Texas (October 21, 2026) – The University of Texas Permian Basin women's soccer team found itself in a defensive struggle in its final road match of the 2026 season at Sul Ross State University, and in the end, it was a tough 1-0 loss for the Falcons against the Lobos.
It was a tight, back-and-forth affair in which UTPB outshot the Lobos by one shot in each half (6-5, 8-7) and both goalkeepers made five saves in the match. However, it was Melissa Chow who scored the lone goal of the match in the 23rd minute for Sul Ross.
UTPB challenged the Sul Ross goalkeeper, Kat Graves, with an early shot on goal by
Aleese Maldonado on the first shot of the match less than two and a half minutes in. Graves came into the match leading the Lone Star Conference in saves per match (8.18) and total saves (90) while also ranking eighth in saves per match and 14th in total saves at the NCAA Division II level.
Meanwhile, Chow put each of her first two shot attempts of the match on target in the 18th and 22nd minutes, resulting in the first two saves of the match by
Valeria Delgado. Chow would then break through with a goal on a bouncing ball just one minute later.
Just over five minutes into the second half, a shot by
Hadley Kelly was saved by Graves, but it still led to a corner kick for the Falcons. However, the ensuing header by
Ailene Rodarte on the corner kick by
Cassandra Ramirez was high and off target.
The Falcons threatened the goal a bit more in the first 15 minutes of the second half as the Lobos battled to fight off crosses from
Breanna Reagan and
Emily Morales before back-to-back saves by Graves on shots by
Molly King and
Mariela Ojeda.
A great effort by Chow saw her just miss shooting for the bottom left of the goal in the 62nd minute, but it was deflected by Delgado, awarding a corner kick to the Lobos. The corner was delivered perfectly into the box, but again it was somehow just knocked away by Delgado.
A free kick by Reagan with 17 minutes remaining was sent high as she failed to put it on goal or give one of her teammates a chance to make a play.
Looking to stay aggressive in the final 15 minutes of the match, Reagan dribbled into the box and had a player near the goal on a cross, but her pass was just cut off by the Lobos' defense.
After a deflection in the box, the ball bounced right to
Jayden Murgia, and she was open but was unable to get on top of the shot as she sent it out high with 13 minutes remaining.
With under 10 minutes remaining, the Falcons were awarded a corner kick after a shot by Reagan deflected off the Lobos, but after the ball on the corner kick was left bouncing around in the box, it was finally cleared away by Sul Ross. The Lobos then took it the other way and won a corner kick themselves. This one was interesting as the corner kick by Sul Ross hit off the top of the crossbar and went directly to Averi Culver, whose shot to try and double up the score resulted in a team save by the Falcons' defense.
Sul Ross continued to play aggressive offense at the end of the match, limiting UTPB's number of chances on the other end. Kiersten Rowland took it nearly 50 yards up the pitch by herself for the Lobos and nearly scored, and then on the ensuing corner kick with under four minutes remaining, Culver got free for a header that could have ended the match, but just missed it wide right.
The second offsides call of the match on the Falcons came with less than two minutes to go and left UTPB with little chance remaining. However, in the final 30 seconds, Reagan took it from midfield toward the box all by herself, fought through the defense to get her pass to
Alyssa Pipes in the box, but Pipes was unable to fight off the pair of defenders surrounding her to get off a final shot attempt.
Reagan and Rodarte paced the Falcons with three shot attempts each while Chow put all four of her shots on target for Sul Ross.
It was the second win of the season for Sul Ross (2-10-3 overall, 2-8-2 Lone Star Conference) while UTPB fell to 4-12-0 and 1-12-0. It was also the fourth positive result in conference play this season for the Lobos. Lastly, it was also the Falcons' first road match at Sul Ross since the Lobos joined the LSC starting with the 2024 season.
With the team having their bye week during the final week of the regular season, the Falcons will wrap up their season this weekend with Senior Day against Angelo State University at 1 p.m. on Saturday, October 24, from the UTPB Soccer Field.
