The UTEP soccer team had its five-game winning streak halted with a 2-0 loss at East Carolina Friday afternoon.

The setback is just the fifth on the campaign for the Miners, as their record now stands at 14-5 (5-3 C-USA).

“We are real disappointed that we lost,” head coach Kevin Cross said. “We are going to have to get really motivated to play better at Marshall.”

In a game that was a tale of two halves, the Pirates were a bit more aggressive in the first stanza. After a ball was played into the UTEP box, miscommunication between junior netminder Jessica Salvi and senior defender Ashleigh Decker led to a loose ball in the area. ECU forward Amy Szilard tapped it in to afford the Pirates a 1-0 lead four minutes into the match.

Two minutes later, Salvi was forced to leave the contest after injuring her knee. The Orange and Blue are blessed with a pair of talented netminders, though, allowing Cross to call upon preseason all-conference nominee Brittany Popoff to enter the match.

The native of Westbank, B.C., was up to the task, as she would finish the game with eight saves. Five of those stops came during the opening period, where Popoff did everything in her power to keep UTEP within striking distance.

Despite her efforts, ECU made the score 2-0 at the 35-minute mark courtesy of a tally by Tara Shaw. She lofted a shot that eluded the finger tips of Popoff and sailed into the upper-right hand corner of the net.

The Miners made some adjustments before the second-half commenced, and they would result in a more accurate depiction of the type of soccer UTEP is capable of playing.

The Orange and Blue tightened their marking, which essentially shut down the Pirate attack. After registering 15 shots during the first period, ECU was held to a mere six in the final 45 minutes of the match.

Offensively, the Miners relied upon crisper passing and a stronger commitment to possession, which jump started the attack.

Tameka Sumter had a couple of good scoring chances, as did Anoop Josan, but Pirate netminder Amber Campbell was on top of her game.

She turned away all eight shots on goal- five of which came during the second period- on the way to recording the shutout.

UTEP will look to rebound when it plays at Marshall on Sunday. The game is slated for a 10 a.m. start.