UC Davis women’s soccer takes the victory over UTEP on Senior Day with a late game-winning penalty

Kaya Herndon contributed a goal and an assist to the action-packed match

By COLINA HARVEY— sports@theaggie.org

On Nov. 1, the UC Davis women’s soccer team faced the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) Miners in their last home game of the 2026-27 season. The match was filled with end-to-end action, penalty kicks and plays under review. A penalty kick goal by Kaya Herndon, a first-year neurobiology, physiology and behavior major, in the 85th minute won the game for the Aggies with a final score of 3-2. 

For the first 25 minutes of the game, the Aggies were dominating the play, making a lot of runs into the final third. The Aggies recorded four shots on goal within those 25 minutes, while the Miners had none. 

In the 27th minute, a foul by Chloe Keating, a first-year undeclared major, gave the Miners a free kick a few yards outside the box. UTEP’s Macey Williams took the kick, sending the ball into the top right corner. Goalkeeper Cat Pieper, a fourth-year political science major, was unable to save it and the Aggies went down 1-0. 

The Aggies continued to hunt for a goal throughout the rest of the half but were unable to put the ball in the back of the net. 

It didn’t take long for the Aggies to equalize in the second half. In the 48th minute, UTEP’s Ashlyn Neireiter committed a foul in the box, giving the Aggies a penalty kick. Courtney Wagner, a third-year psychology major, was the one to take the kick. Although goalkeeper Savanah Finley guessed right and dove for the ball but could not reach Wagner’s well placed ball in time to stop it. 

Just a few minutes later, a foul on Kiley Fehrenbacher, a third-year neurobiology, physiology and behavior major, gave a penalty kick to UTEP. Neireiter scored it, putting UTEP back up.

In the 56th minute, Herndon started a counterattack and sent a through ball to Ashley Brewer, a third-year human development major. Brewer was one-on-one with the goalkeeper when she shot and scored the Aggie’s second goal. This was the only goal in the game not scored in open play. 

In the remaining 30 minutes of play, the Aggies pushed hard for a winning goal, making strong offensive plays. The goal finally came in the 85th minute when a foul was called in the box on UTEP’s Nyalah Reeves, giving the Aggies another penalty kick. Herndon took the kick and scored, winning the game for the Aggies. 

The Aggies outperformed the Miners in key metrics, recording 19 shots while the Miners had seven. Of those shots, the Aggies shot 10 on target and the Miners shot four on target. The Aggies also led in corner kicks, taking 11 compared to the Miners’ four. 

Herndon earned both Mountain West Freshman of the Week and Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week awards for her goal and assist against UTEP. 

Written by: Colina Harvey — sports@theaggie.org