THE PROSPECTORTHE UNIVERSITY of TEXAS at EL PASOAssayer of Student Opinion June 24, 2009 www.utepprospector.com

SGA plans to expand budget

File Photo

Arnett Moultrie was one of 12 players chosen to play for the

United States 19 and under national team.

theBy Herman Rojas and Carlos M. Silva Jr.

The Prospector

Arnett Moultrie is going to put some of his summer plans on hold and make sure his passport is up to date.

Among the things that the UTEP forward has to add to his “to do” list is play on a U.S. national team.

Moultrie claimed one of the 12 available spots on the 2009 USA U19 National Team that will compete in the FIBA World Champion-

ships July 2-12 in Auckland, New Zealand. The roster is composed of ath-letes born on or after Jan. 1, 1990. The team will remain in Colorado through June 25 to train for the upcoming championships before departing for New Zealand.

“I found out (Thursday) morning after my fi rst practice,” Moultrie said. “I was excited because I’m putting out a good name for UTEP and I have an opportunity to represent my country.”

Moultrie becomes only the second Miner to represent the U19 team and the fi rst since Terry White was on the squad 30 years ago. He also becomes the eighth Miner to represent the United States in international competition.

The UTEP forward was one of 17 players selected from across the country to attend the 2009 USA U19 National Team Trials at the U.S. Olympic Train-ing Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., which took place from June 16-18.

“It’s been a great experience, great to be a part of,” said U19 head coach Jaime Dixon in a press release. “A lot of kids playing hard and out here for the right reasons and giving up their summer to play in this event and I think they understand the importance of it.”

Diablos defeat CatsEl Paso wins weekend

seriesSPORTS 7

Musical twilight“Music Under the Stars” begins its new seasonENT 5

By Natalia QuirozThe Prospector

Student Government Associa-tion President Alex Muñoz said they plan to increase the projected $70,000 that is slated for student organizations to $75,000 with fundraising initiatives in order to meet an increased demand for funding by student organizations.

“Since we received almost dou-ble the number of student orga-nization bills last year compared to the year before, SGA is trying to make sure that more money is available for student organiza-tions,” said Muñoz, a senior who is double majoring in fi nance and accounting.

Muñoz is also hoping the new House of Student Representa-tives will enact a set of guidelines, which will encourage student or-ganizations to become involved with UTEP projects such as the Go Green recycling program in exchange for funding.

“These are just ideas and it would be something that would have to be discussed within the House of Representatives once it is formed,” Muñoz said.

Muñoz also said that although the processing period for appro-priation bills has decreased, stu-dent organizations should request funds in a timely matter.

“Student organizations should allow us at least a period of two to three weeks to process the bills,” Muñoz said.

Karina Esparza, sophomore an-thropology major and treasurer for the Arabiyahh Community organization, hopes this year’s ap-propriations budget will better ac-commodate organizations.

“This past semester, we were denied appropriations that we needed for a peace conference, and I just really hope that the ap-propriations expansion will give a way for other organizations to receive the appropriations they request and need,” Esparza said.

Zach Zuniga, member of Sigma Alpha Lambda honor society and Phi Delta Beta, said Muñoz’s idea to require the participation of

See Budget page 3

By Pamela PrietoThe Prospector

One of the most pressing items during President Barack Obama’s administration has been the re-form of health coverage. While the issue has caused a debate on whether the government should institute a nationally implement-ed program versus a hands-off

approach to the government’s involvement in people’s medical decisions, the issue and the solu-tions could have a great impact on Texas and specifi cally on the lives of UTEP students and their families.

A study released in 2006 and revised in 2008, titled Code Red: The Critical Condition of Health

in Texas, revealed that the state contains the highest number of uninsured residents in the nation. About 25 percent of Texans are without health insurance, com-pared to the national average of 15.7 percent.

The authors, who were members of the Task Force on Access to Health Care in Texas, found that,

“Texas has not taken full advan-tage of available federal match-ing funds to reduce the burden of providing health care for the uninsured,” and that the state’s current “county-based approach to delivery of health care…is inad-equate and inequitable.”

Texas leads nation in uninsured citizens

See Uninsured page 3

See Dream page 4

begins

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHE UNIVERSITYTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHE UNIVERSITY ofofYY TTffAssayer of Stuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuudddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnntttttttttttttttt OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOpppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn June 24

Arrnettt MMoultriee w

Unniteed SStates 119

planAmong

do” list is pMoultrie cl

U19 National Teships July 2-12 in Au

letes born on or after JJune 25 to train for thZealand.

“I found out (Thursdwas excited because Iopportunity to repres

Moultrie becomes onfi rst since Terry Whiteeighth Miner to repre

The UTEP forward wto attend the 2009 USing Center in Colorad

“It’s been a great eJaime Dixon in a prethe right reasons anthink they understan

Livingdream

PERSPECTIVES2

THE UNIVERSITY of TEXAS at EL PASO

Vol. 94, No. 1

Submit a letter to the editor! Letters will be edited for clarity and brevity.Letters over 250 words are subject to editing to fi t available space. Please include full name, street

address and telephone number and e-mail address, plus major,classifi cation and/or title if applicable.

Address and phone number will be used for verifi cation only.Write to 105 E. Union, e-mail prospector@utep.edu, call 747-7477 or fax to 747-8031.

THE UNIVERSITY ofY TEXAS f at EL PASOTTHE PROSPECTOHE PROSPECTORR

June 24, 2009

The Prospector (USPS 448-020) is published by the Student Publications Board, 105 E. Union, 500 W. University Ave., El Paso, TX 79968. During Fall & Spring semester The Prospector is published twice weekly: Tuesdays and Thursdays, except holidays and when

classes are not in session, once a week on Wednesday during the summer session. Subscription rates: $20 per year, $4 taken from fees to pay for student copies. Periodicals postage paid at El Paso, TX. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Prospector, 105 E.

Union, El Paso, Texas 79968-0622. The Prospector is not responsible for claims made by advertisers. Additional policy information can be obtained by calling The Prospector at 747-5161. Opinions expressed in The Prospector are not necessarily those of the university.

Getting by: We beat ads, woohoo! - Editorial staff Have a Jesus Day CMS! - RWG

Editor-in-Chief: Carlos M. Silva Jr. Layout Editor: Vanessa JuarezOnline Editor: Cristina DiazEntertainment Editor: Jesus C. MartinezSports Editor: Herman RojasPhoto Editor: Jacob TorresCopy Editor: Aaron MartinezCorrespondents: Mireya Toy, Pamela Prieto, Justin A. Monarez, Christopher S. Silva, Nicole Chavez, Salvador Guerrero, Beatriz A. Cas-taneda, Natalia Quiroz, Veronica PorrasPhotographers: Myriam Setra, Bob Corral, Daniel GonzalesCartoonist: Luis Cano

Asst. Director-Advertising: Veronica Gonzalez

Ad Representatives: Sofi a Chavez, Fernando Hernandez, Selene Macias

Senior Ad Designer: Yasmin Marquez

Ad Layout Manager: Alejandra Guerrero

Ad Designers: Ignacio Esparza, Isaac

Villalpando

Student Ad Manager: Adrian De Santiago

Accounting Specialist: Isabel Castillo

Student Assistant: Denise Rodriguez

Classifi eds: Marcela R. Luna

Student Publications Director: Kathleen Flores

Editorial Advisor: Lourdes Cardenas

Editorial Board – 747-7477

Carlos M. Silva Jr. — Editor-in-Chief

By Carlos M. Silva Jr.The Prospector

Hi, my name is Carlos, and I’m addicted to the Internet.

Phew, that’s a load off my shoulders, but it won’t stop my daily ritual of turning on

my computer before I hit the snooze button on my alarm. It’s even harder to believe, much less imagine, that this mirrors a good chunk of our younger readership’s habits.

I am still clinging to the fact that I’m apart of this younger generation, but slowly I’m com-ing to terms with the fact that I’m becoming outdated every year — heck everyday.

To put this into perspective, I can still remember driving to the Irving Schwartz library to look up information for a report. Yes, there is a building that holds books with a plethora of information, but peo-ple have forgotten about libraries because of the Internet. Students take this great resource for grant-ed and use search engines such as Google or information havens such as Wikipedia to track down journals, books or other items for their bibliographies.

Professors are probably tired of reading the amount of Web sites,

rather than books, attributed on school reports. The Internet has also changed the way people get their news as well.

It was reported June 17 in Ad-week and Reuters that the Inter-net is the most popular source of information and the preferred choice for news ahead of televi-sion, newspapers and radio, ac-cording to a Zogby Interactive survey. The poll revealed that more than half of the participants would choose the Internet rather than television, print or radio.

The poll also revealed that the Internet was the most reliable source of news compared to tele-vision, radio and newspaper. Con-sumers of information love the new 24-hour breaking news cycle, but could it get to a point where the Internet affects our daily lives and work schedule?

Enter Facebook, Myspace and Twitter.

The trio of Web sites have single handedly made my days less pro-ductive and been the ire of sleep-less nights. I’m sure the major-ity of people reading this would agree with the aforementioned statement.

It was reported June 16 by the Los Angeles Times that Facebook dethroned MySpace in the Unit-ed States, according to research fi rm ComScore Inc. Facebook had 70.28 million U.S. users last month, topping MySpace’s 70.26

million with Twitter coming in third at 17.6 million.

That’s a lot of status updates.If one of your friends broke up

with a signifi cant other you’ll know about it because you can bet it will be shown on Facebook and Myspace as status updates.

Gone are the days of person-to-person conversation.

But fret not, the University Li-brary is taking the necessary steps, such as allowing patrons to view the catalogs online and recheck-ing books out online on their Web site, to keep up the pace. The lat-ter is a feature I found out about recently, which has been handy for those days I don’t feel like making the drive to campus.

These are some of the things the University Library is doing to keep up with the “I must have it now” mentality, which developed with the Internet age. It seems to have stuck with UTEP students, since there are a large amount that visit the library daily; although a ma-jority are on their laptops check-ing Facebook, Myspace and other online resources.

One step forward, two steps back I suppose.

Carlos M. Silva Jr. may be reached at

prospector@utep.edu.

I’m addicted, so are you

This poll is not scientifi c and refl ects the opinions of only those Inter-net users who have chosen to participate. The results cannot be as-sumed to represent the opinions of Internet users in general, nor the public as a whole.

Is the new bookstore location convenient?

Results of last week’s poll taken from www.utepprospector.comFind a new poll on our Web site every week.

Vote on this week’s poll:

Do you have health insurance?

at www.utepprospector.com

Accuracy Watch

The Prospector is committed to accuracy. If you think we have made an error of fact, e-mail us at prospector@utep.edu.

CorrectionStudent Government Associa-

tion President Alex Muñoz is a double major in fi nance and accounting.

It was incorrectly reported in the June 10 edition of The Prospector.

The Prospector staff extends its condolences to the family and friends of former student

Caprice Marie Padilla, who passed away June 8.

Archive SearchVisit www.utepprospector.

com to search the archives for your favorite articles and mul-timedia projects since 2007.titititimedidididia pr jjjojectttts siiiince 222 200000000

The Prospector • June 24, 2009 3

WEEKLY FORECAST

TUES THUR FRI SAT SUN MONWED

97°72°

94°70°

97°71°

99°72°

96°73°

95°74°

96°72°

Yesterday’s rainfall was rather heavy in some parts of town and today there

will be just enough leftover humidity for an isolated chance of a shower or

storm. The temperatures will top out in the

hot mid 90s.

Today will feel hotter, but the upper 90s are our

normal high temperature for this time of year. Find

some shade or a nice, cool spot to chill.

This afternoon’s temperature on the UTEP campus and surrounding

areas will flirt with the century mark. Think cool thoughts as the heat will

last into the early \nighttime hours.

The moisture levels will increase and so will our chance of an isolated

thunderstorm later today and into the evening hours. Just factor the possibility of

a shower into your late day plans.

The June heat is on! The winds will be out of the hot

southerly direction with plenty of desert sunshine.

This Sunday will be hot and still humid. Some spotty showers and storms are

possible later on.

The temperatures are edging back to our normal “hot” range for this time of

year. Most of tonight’s storms should be just off to our west and over the area

mountains.

refuse the ordinary

A simple click-clack and this comfortable sofa becomes acomfortable bed for two. Red, beige, or black imitation leather.

6550 N. Mesa, El Paso • 581-8897

(915)532-79881015 MagoffinEl Paso, Texas 79901not cer tified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization

D.W.I.Traffic Tickets

Attorne y at Law

In another report, titled How Healthy Are We? Selected Health Measures for El Paso, Texas 2008, Hector Reyes Jr. found that in 2006 the percentage of El Pasoans who were not insured comprised about 40 percent of the county’s population. Reyes is a UTEP graduate student com-pleting a research assistantship under the Master of Public Health Program.

“The health care system is bro-ken,” said Jose Manuel Muñoz, a UTEP business graduate. “Com-pared to other countries we have the best services in the world, but they are not readily available.”

Muñoz currently has no health coverage. He also said that not having health insurance might have been a mistake on his part.

“A month ago, I had health is-sues and I had an operation. So maybe health insurance might have been a good idea because now I have to pay $25,000,” Mu-ñoz said.

The Code Red study stated that the single most prevalent reason for personal bankruptcies among Texans is medical expenses.

Layra Reza, a mechanical engi-neering graduate student, now has health benefi ts through UTEP’s graduate school student employee program.

“When I was a student, I would get (insurance) through my dad’s employer, otherwise it would be impossible to pay for it,” Reza said. “It’s something that should be available and it’s not. Most of the time, the people who don’t have the resources are the ones that are uninsured.”

At UTEP, only international stu-dents (except those from Mexico) are required to have health care coverage. The only insurance pro-vider that is UT System approved for international students in El Paso is available through JDW Insurance.

“There are no health questions or anything,” said Lisa Veliz, JDW Insurance account executive.

She added that students are guaranteed coverage.

The plan is also available for non-international students and can be purchased on a semester or annual basis at $429 per semes-ter. The plan includes a $300 de-ductible and the provider, United

Health Care, pays 80 percent of the incurred medical expenses.

“I still don’t think I would buy it,” said Regina Martinez, pre-nursing sophomore.

Martinez has health care cover-age in Ciudad Juárez through the plan her father receives from his employer.

“For me to pay that seems diffi -cult… fi nancially,” Martinez said.

Until the national health in-surance issue reaches a conclu-sion, UTEP students have limited choices regarding their coverage needs. If they can afford it, private insurance is one option; if they can’t and they are eligible, Medic-aid is another.

A third option, the TexHealth Coalition 3-Share Plan, won’t be available in El Paso until late 2009, but it is focused on helping

small businesses provide coverage for their employees. This plan will aim to divide the cost of medical expenses between the employee, the employer and a third party, ei-ther a non-profi t organization or a government entity.

President Obama will host a special edition of Primetime at the White House June 24, where he will discuss the future of public health care. The program will be televised at 9 p.m. on ABC (locally KVIA channel 7, cable channel 6).

Pamela Prieto may be reached at

prospector@utep.edu.

Who are the uninsured in Texas?79 percent of uninsured Texans work or have a • working family member76-82 percent of the uninsured in Texas are U.S. • citizensNon-citizens constitute 18-24 percent of the • uninsured in the state68 percent of non-poor uninsured Texans are • white, non-Hispanic individuals

Why are so many Texans uninsured?The average cost of health insurance premiums • ($9,100 annually) is almost half of the federal poverty limitMost adults do not qualify for Medicaid in Texas• Texas Childrenʼs Health Insurance Program covers • children in families that earn less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level, but does not provide coverage for adults

student organizations in school projects is a great way to encour-age collaboration.

“It’s a great idea,” said Zuniga, senior political science major. “It’s important for student orga-nizations to participate in school projects because it promotes an inter-organizational reciprocal system that will improve our campus.”

Zuniga, who was last year’s SGA elections commissioner, also praised the appropriations budget expansion.

“More appropriations means great news for student organi-zations since SGA’s funds have been somewhat tight over the years,” Zuniga said.

Paloma Licon, senior linguis-tics major and vice president for the Arabiyyah Community, said it was important for SGA to con-sider that new organizations on campus may sometimes face dif-fi culty locating the funds needed to continue their projects.

“I think SGA should take into consideration that new organi-zations sometimes are in need of appropriations in order to ex-pand and establish themselves,” Licon said. “I really hope to see the appropriation budget help new organizations this year.”

Muñoz said that he hopes the matter will be addressed during the upcoming year.

“We weren’t aware that small organizations were having a dif-fi cult time and I would like to discuss these problems,” Muñoz said. “We’re always looking for ways to improve.”

Natalia Quiroz may be reached at

prospector@utep.edu.edu.

Budget from page 1

Uninsured from page 1

Special to The Prospector

Medical expenses are stated as the single most prevalent reason for

personal bankruptcies among Texans according to the Code Red

study.

Code

Red RESEARCH FINDINGS

4 The Prospector • June 24, 2009 NEWS

By Laura S. ApodacaThe Prospector

The Adelante Child Develop-ment Center has expanded its facility by relocating from 1825 Hawthorne St. to 315 Schuster Ave. Along with the move, the UTEP day care added more class-rooms and hired extra caregivers to meet high demands.

“Babies are a big demand and when one space becomes available then we could enroll a child from the waiting list,” said Kellie Faulk-enberry, admin-istrative director of the Adelante Child Develop-ment Center.

The building, which opened for business March 30, is more than 6,000 square feet and two sto-ries tall.

“It’s bigger here, the play-ground is bet-ter, they have sections for the 2 year olds and sections for the toddler,” said Elizabeth Torres, a senior education major and mother of one. “It’s just cleaner and nicer, I like it.”

The improved child develop-ment center has a total of six individual classrooms, separat-

ing infants into two groups. The groups range from babies ages 3 to 6 months and 6 to 12 months. Toddlers 12 to 24 months, 24 to 36 months and children 3 to 5 years of age are also in individual classrooms, where as in the old facility the toddlers and the 2 to 3 year olds shared a large room separated by dividers.

“In the new facility the kids have circle time and do a lot of work,” Torres said. “I always have a lot of art work to pick up that they now can do inside the class.”

With the ex-pansion of the new building, four new care-givers were hired, which brings its total to 24 employees. The facility also touts a revolv-ing-door policy that allows a parent attending UTEP to reserve a child’s space even if they do not bring the child to day care everyday.

“Some areas in the facility are

limited, but when one space be-

comes available we call the par-

ent so they can bring their child,”

Faulkenberry said. “We try to ex-

haust our waiting list.”

The old building was torn down for two reasons: the building was not specifi cally designed for child-care use and due to the expansion by the College of Engineering, which will utilize the area, said Victor Pacheco, assistant vice president for business affairs.

“The decision to move the old child care center was made sever-al years ago,” Pacheco said, “The purchase of the apartment com-plex along Schuster brought the opportunity to relocate it to that location earlier this year.”

The Adelante Child Develop-ment Center is strictly for parents

who attend or work at UTEP full or part time, with children rang-ing from 3 months to 12 years of age and is not open to the community.

The child development center currently uses the Exceed Pro-gram, which prepares children 3 to 5 years of age for preschool, Faulktenberry said.

The Adelante Child Develop-ment Center is open year round and will be accepting enrollment packets for students attending the fall semester beginning July 1. Faculty and staff may sign up July 7.

Laura S. Apodaca may be reached at

prospector@utep.edu.

UTEP child care expands off campus

Photos by Daniel Gonzales / The Prospector

The Adelante Child

Development Center, which

moved from 1825 Hawthorne

St. to 315 Schuster Ave., is

more than 6,000 square feet

and two stories tall.

The 6-foot 11-inch, 225-pound freshman earned his way onto the initial roster after averaging 8.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game in his fi rst season. In that span, he became the third Miner in history to pull down more than 300 re-bounds in a season.

On the year, Moultrie led Con-ference USA freshmen in re-bounding and fi nished fi fth in the nation among freshmen. He set personal bests of 19 points and 18 rebounds against Houston Jan. 28, recording one of his six-dou-ble doubles on the season.

As a result of his success on the inside, Dixon is looking to see if Moultrie will be able to produce against international competi-tion at the center spot. As the tall-est player on the U.S. roster, the UTEP big man will have plenty of opportunities to take control as the man in the middle. It is a chal-lenge that Moultrie is welcoming with open arms.

“They’ve got me playing the fi ve (center position) because of my size,” Moultrie said. “It’s alright because I’m closer to the basket, so I should be able to get more re-bounds and work on my low-post game.”

While Arnett will be perform-ing nearly half a world away, his play will not go unnoticed back in El Paso.

“It’s an exciting opportunity for Arnett,” UTEP coach Tony Bar-bee said. “He deserves it. He has worked hard, and he has improved in every way as a player. Not only did he make the roster, but he has a chance to make a huge impact at the FIBA World Championship. He’ll have a chance to earn major minutes and compete on a nation-al level, which should be a tremen-dous boost to his confi dence.”

Among the mix of players

from more prestigious Division

I schools, Moultrie held his own

against tough competition and

was just one of three players se-

lected from a school that is not

affi liated with a BCS conference.

UTEP is just one of two schools

represented on the team that is

not affi liated with one of the six

biggest conferences.

“I think this is a well-balanced

team,” said men’s Junior National

Team Committee Chair Jim Boe-

heim in a press release. “They’ll

have to get the job done as a team.

They may not have a star-caliber

player, but they have a lot of very

good players. At this stage, the

U19 team looks like they will work

very well together. All of the U19

trials participants played very

hard throughout the trials. There

has been no lack of effort, and

that’s a good sign.”

Now that the trials have come

and gone, the focus now shifts to

the world championships. The

road to a world championship will

be a test in endurance and tough-

ness for these players with the

United States potentially playing

nine games in 11 days in order to

top the medal stand.

“I’m happy I made the roster

because you don’t get this chance

everyday,” Moultrie said. “It’s an

honor. Now we have one goal and

that’s to win the gold.”

Herman Rojas may be reached at

prospector@utep.edu. Carlos M. Silva

Jr. contributed to this story.

Dream from page 1

Hours of operation

Summer hours:Monday-Friday

6:45 a.m.-6 p.m.

Regular hours:Monday-Thursday7:15 a.m.-9 p.m.

Friday7:15 a.m.-6 p.m.

Visit The Prospector’s online multimedia section for video of this story.

on for video of ory.

VIDEO

5ENTERTAINMENTJune 24, 2009 Jesus C. Martinez — Entertainment Editor

By Nicole ChávezThe Prospector

With an almost sold out con-cert, the Mexican bands Reik, Ele-fante and Codek rocked the stage as they entertained a screaming pool of fans whose cheers nearly brought down the El Paso County Coliseum June 18.

Days before the beginning of their tour “Un Día Mas,” members of Reik, Jesús Navarro, Bibi Marin and Julio Gutiérrez were nervous as they prepared for the concert. Now, the fear has gone and they feel confi dent about touring the rest of the United States.

“This tour has been the biggest and most successful of our career. We are presenting on important venues in 23 cities in the country,” said Navarro, Reik vocalist.

As the concert date grew closer, some fans found it diffi cult to ac-quire tickets. In some instances,

they had to pay $20 more than the ticket’s original price to attend the concert.

“I couldn’t buy my ticket in ad-vance, so I paid almost $70 to a friend who had an extra ticket,” said Oscar Lira, junior nursing major.

For the Reik fans, the adventure started at 4 p.m at the Verizon Wireless Communications store on Viscount Boulevard, which hosted an autograph signing. Around 200 people waited out-side the store for more than two hours before the signing began.

“I’ve been here since one o’clock, but the time went fast because the staff from Verizon was doing fun contests to give tickets and other cool prizes,” said Gabriela Garcia, junior pre-business major.

The fan’s chances to meet the band did not end there. Some lucky winners of two local radio

contests had the opportunity to meet with the members of Reik and Elefante just minutes before the beginning of the concert.

“I was outside (the coliseum) when I won. I danced, sang, yelled and other things to get the backstage pass,” said Elizabeth Gonzalez, a Socorro High School student.

Opening the concert was a per-formance by Codek, a local band from Ciudad Juárez. The beauty of Vianey Rivera, Codek’s vocal-ist, in addition to the electro-pop rhythms of songs like “Circo Magico,” “Necesito” and “Si Tu Supieras,” calmed the public who were anxious to see Elefante and Reik.

The next band on the lineup was Elefante, which made the public stand up and dance with the sounds and lyrics of “El Aban-donao.” When the band played songs like “Así es la vida,” “Men-tirosa” and “De la noche a la ma-ñana,” hundreds of hands swayed in the air along with the music.

“Never let your dreams die; study and work hard to pursue them. Do everything from your heart and with passion,” said Javi, vocalist of Elefante, as a message to UTEP students.

For more than one hour, Ele-fante played a repertoire of their songs taken from their fi ve al-bums. They promised their fans that they would come back to pro-mote their upcoming album.

“We are going to start the pro-duction of the new album, and we hope that in September you can listen to the fi rst single on the radio,” said Iguana, the drummer from Elefante.

After 10:30 p.m., the audience screamed as Reik appeared on

stage. Fans enjoyed themselves as they heard songs such as “In-olvidable,” ‘Fui,” “Piel de Ciudad,” “Invierno” and, of course, “Un Día Mas.”

The romantic moment of the night was when Navarro, vocalist of the band, sang “Sabes” as a re-quest from a couple in the crowd.

“When we were at the auto-graph signing, a guy asked me if I could sing them a song,” Navarro said. “My best wishes to you and your fi ancée.”

During the concert, audience members had the opportunity to send messages to the stage via text messages on open screens. One couple sent a message announc-ing their engagement, which in-spired the singer to dedicate a song to them.

The closing of the concert was a very special one as Reik played their fi rst single that launched them to fame four years ago, “Yo Quisiera.”

As a goodbye and thanks to all of their adoring fans, the band bowed down and left the stage during the roaring sounds of the audience’s applause.

Nicole Chávez may be reached at

prospector@utep.edu.

Music illuminates the Chamizal

Mexican bands excite fans at the Coliseum

s-”a

et-

od

eote--a

sdd

e

t

By Veronica PorrasThe Prospector

“Music Under the Stars” has returned to El Paso for its 26th season making the Chamizal Na-tional Memorial Park the place to be this summer.

The event brings free live music to the community with different and exciting music genres, along with an ambience fi lled with fun and leisure as a variety of people enjoy dancing, sports, food and beers in a safe environment.

The musical event was fi rst brought to the city by the El Paso’s Arts and Culture Department in 1983 attracting 3,500 people at the time. Since then, it has grown to attract about 8,000 to 20,000 per night and more than 100,000 people in total each year.

“‘Music Under the Stars’ is the largest outdoor concert series in the Southwest,” said Victor Guerrero, the marketing and cul-tural tourism coordinator at the Museums and Cultural Affairs Department.

This year, “Music Under the Stars” began its season June 14 with a performance by Sobredosis del Sabor, which attracted more than 11,000 people. Sobredosis is a band of Cuban exiles now re-siding in the United States. They brought very authentic salsa and merengue for the crowd to enjoy.

Manuel Mateo, a freshman busi-ness major, who attended “Music Under the Stars” for the fi rst time, said some great aspects of the show were the performers, the music, and the way the perform-ers danced and represented their roots. He was very ecstatic about the show centering on his favor-ite type of music and danced for a great amount of time.

“What is different is always the talent. We want to make sure El Pasoans experience different types of music genres. This varies from popular music to more cul-tural and less mainstream music,” Guerrero said.

The next shows will include other bands playing country, latin-rock, cocktail-pop, reggae, ranchera and mariachi music. Two events will include tribute bands.

The largest night expected for “Music Under the Stars” will be July 4, when the El Paso Sympho-ny Orchestra will play patriotic selections and fi nish with a show of fi reworks. Organizers are ex-pecting an attendance of 18,000 to 20,000 people.

One of the most popular event is “Noche Ranchera,” which will be this season’s fi nal show. The night will include performances by Mariachi Tapatío and the El Paso Youth Symphony Orches-tra. Generally, this night draws a crowd of about 15,000 people eager to celebrate classic Mexican

tunes by singing and dancing as a community.

Due to such a large amount of attendees every night, security is a very important issue, and it is not taken lightly.

“Security is super tight and well coordinated,” Guerrero said. “The National Park Service and the El Paso Police Department spear-head security for the event. They have quite a high level of profes-

sionalism and experience that en-ables them to run their operations for this event glitch free.”

There is still time to experience “Music Under the Stars.” The

Myriam Setra / The Prospector

Every Sunday night during the summer, El Pasoans get together to enjoy a vast array of musical genres

as they sit under the stars, at the Chamizal National Memorial.

See Music page 6

Jacob Torres / The Prospector

Reik bandmembers Bibi Marin, Jesús Navarro, and Julio Gutiérrez

met with fans at Verizon Wireless prior to the concert.

Visit The Prospector’s on-line media section to view video of the con-cert and autograph signing in Spanish.

r’s on-to

con-ph

VIDEO

Myria

m S

etra

/ Th

e P

rosp

ecto

r

6 The Prospector • June 24, 2009

Announcement PREGNANT? HAVE A FREE CONFIDENTIAL TEST AT BIRTHRIGHT FRIENDLY

CARING AID CALL 533-1818.

Housing

INTERNATIONAL students furnished bedrooms for rent.

Available for June, July & August, $330 monthly, $100 deposit.

All utilities paid, walking distance to UTEP. Kitchen, laundry, cable and Internet, facilities. Info: 274-6763. Email: lilysshop@hotmail.com

HORSE PROPERTY five bedroom home, Upper Valley,

on two acres, fenced corrals, all appliances and gardening included, $1,800 a month, year lease available

July 1, 2009. Steve (323) -939-9251 or Marcia (915)- 584-8320.

Studio for rent in Kern. All utilities and Internet included, except electricity,

$425 mo. Call 252-3962.

Nice condo, one bedroom, close to UTEP, $450 monthly.

Call 915) 543-6764.

HousingApartment for rent furnished and unfurnished, utilities paid

$280 monthly, $50 deposit. 600 Cincinnati.

HousingOne person studio, furnished

and unfurnished, utilities paid. $490 monthly, $100 deposit.

600 Cincinnati.

HousingFurnished room for rent, cable, utilities

included, $275. Call 584-7306.

RoommateFemale roommate, walking distance from

UTEP, $150 plus $20 utilities, clean and respectful environment,

call 219-3723.

AdvertisePlease submit your classified ads to:

The Prospector 105 E. Union,

El Paso, TX 79968-0622 Classified ads will not be accepted over the phone. To all classified advertisers:

Additional fees will be charged for Bold or Caps in your classified ad. See

rates and deadlines below. For more information, call 747-5161 or E-mail:

prospectorclass@utep.edu.

VolunteerODYSSEY HEALTH CARE

of El Paso is looking for “YOU”

to give of your precious time to our patients who are at the end of their life’s

journey. For more information, call theVolunteer Coordinator

at (915) 778-9058.

Classified Adswww.utepprospector.com

Local ads - 40¢ per word. Local businesses - 45¢ per word. Out-of-town businesses - 60¢ per word. Bold or caps - 15¢ extra per word. UTEP students, faculty, staff and alumni members - 30¢ (for personal use only, does not include business related advertising.)

The Prospector is published on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the fall and spring semesters and on Wednesdays during the summer sessions. Deadline for Classified Ads: Friday before noon for Tuesday’s or Wednesday’s issue. Tuesday before noon for Thursday’s issue. Ads may not be phoned in. They must be faxed to (915) 747-8031 or by e-mail: prospectorclass@utep.edu.

Classified Ad Rates

Answers to 6-10-09

New pub offers world fl avorsBy Mireya ToyThe Prospector

Don’t let the name fool you. The new Leprechaun Irish Pub in town may not be full of men in green suits and clovers, but it does offer its guests an impressive selection of more than 60 worldwide beers, over 100 different mixed drinks and an unlimited variety of shots.

“What makes us different is that people can come and try beer that they can’t get anywhere else,” said Francisco Gonzalez, waiter at the pub.

Despite being labeled as an Irish pub, not many of its beers are from Ireland, but that is something the business is working on said Will Bagby, general manager of Lepre-chaun Irish Pub.

“We are always trying to im-prove our beverage list, so we will have more in time,” Bagby said.

The Leprechaun’s beer menu not only includes the typical Ameri-can and Mexican beers found in most restaurants, but also beers that originate from various coun-tries all over the world including Ireland, England, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Jamaica and other countries. In addition, the pub also helps guests settle their appetite with burgers, sandwich-es, rib eye steaks, fajitas and other traditional plates.

“I really liked the presentation of the food. It was very original and the food was also good,” said Sandra Ramirez, graduate student in sociology.

There is a limited amount of food selections available because the pub is in its early stages of development.

On the other hand, there is one aspect of Leprechaun’s menu that most guests may not be aware of. A special ingredient may be found in

a variety of its dishes, which adds to the fl avor of the restaurant.

“People don’t know that most of our food is prepared with Guin-ness,” Gonzales said.

Once you set foot inside the pub, the all-wooden interior gives Lep-rechaun’s a homey feeling, and creates an atmosphere that dis-tinctively separates this pub from the rest. Some customers may fi nd it astonishing that there are no Leprechauns running around, but that does not stop them from going to the pub.

“I was surprised when I went in,” said Carlos Garcia, fi rst time Leprechaun customer. “I was ex-pecting a lot of Leprechauns all over the place, but it was a lot nic-er than I thought it would be.”

The European inspired pub is the second of its kind; the fi rst Leprechaun Irish Pub resides just across the border in Ciudad Juárez. Almost two years after the great success the pub had in Cd. Juárez, owner Hiran Castro, de-cided to bring the Leprechaun’s experience to El Paso.

With only four weeks since opening its doors, there are plans underway to enhance the overall experience, such as an outside patio. More things are still in the works, such as setting the menus and adding a bigger variety of Irish beers. Bagby hopes this will help promote the Irish experience in El Paso.

Although the Leprechaun Irish Pub may have been brought over from Cd. Juárez, it is not the fi rst

Irish Pub in El Paso. Leprechaun is competing with O’Hagans, another Irish Pub that recently opened.

In the end, Leprechaun Irish Pub adds more variety to the Irish pub scene, which gives customers more of a selection and opportu-nities to embrace a form of Irish culture and heritage.

The pub located on 4130 Mesa St. is open Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 2 a.m and Tuesday and Sunday from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Happy Hour ends at 8 p.m. and lunch specials run from noon to 4 p.m.

For more information go to www.leprechaunirishp.com or call 532-2007.

Mireya Toy may be reached at

prospector@utep.edu.

Jacob Torres / The Prospector

Manager Will Bagby prepares a shot of an Irish Rainbow for a customer. The Leprechaun Irish Pub is

located at 4130 Mesa St.

concert series will continue every Sunday until Aug. 16 from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Chamizal National Memorial Park. Parking is available at Bowie High School, along Piedras Street and the El Paso Zoo, which includes a free shuttle ride to the park. Pets and glass bottles are prohibited. The park’s administrators ask visitors to clean up after themselves and suggest people fi ll out some sur-veys about any concerns or com-ments that can make “Music Un-der the Stars” a better experience for everyone. For further informa-tion on “Music Under the Stars,” visit www.elpasoartsandculture.org.

Veronica Porras may be reached at

prospector@utep.edu.

Music from page 5

Music Under the StarsSummer ScheduleJune 28: Texas Alibi (country)

July 4: El Paso Symphony Orchestra with fi reworks fi nale (patriotic selections)

July 12: Del Castillo (Latin rock)

July 19: KISS Mania(KISS tribute band)

July 26: Lascivious Biddies (cocktail pop)

Aug. 2: Border Roots (reggae)

Aug. 9: Windy City (Chicago tribute)

Aug. 16: Noche Ranchera with Mariachi Tapatío and the El

Paso Youth Symphony Orchestra

a with he El

a

By Salvador GuerreroThe Prospector

El Pasoans have fl ocked every summer to Cohen Stadium to soak in the joys of America’s favorite past time. In the last 20 years, the stadium has been home to the El Paso Diablos and just recently, the team celebrated a milestone anniversary for the facility.

The Diablos (17-19) returned home after falling short in a sev-en-game road trip at Fort Worth and Grand Prairie where they went 2-7. A familiar environment provided an opportunity to turn their road trip woes around with some wins.

In the series opener June 19, pitcher David Whigham was com-manding in shutting out the fi rst-place Fort Worth Cats 5-0 in front of a crowd of more than 7,000 fans.

Whigham (3-0) dismantled the Cats with an imposing slider and changeup, accounting for most of the defense all night. He faced Fort Worth pitcher Joel Kirsten (4-1) who also boasted an undefeated record prior to the Cats loss.

The Diablos showed little of-fense in the fi rst six innings, ac-counting for one run that came off right fi elder Jorge Alvarez’s RBI that brought in shortstop Arnold Ponce. It was not until the sixth when El Paso’s offense came to life scoring two more times giv-ing the Diablos a 3-0 lead. El Paso scored two more runs in the sev-enth to cap off the night with a 5-0 shut out.

The middle game of the series was a different story for El Paso. The Diablos allowed a late-inning rally led by Fort Worth center fi elder Brian Fryer in a game that

went back and forth through 10 innings.

El Paso took an early 3-0 lead in the third, before the Cats charged their way back in the fourth in-ning. Fort Worth scored four runs off two homeruns to give them a 4-3 lead. It was not until the sixth inning, when Diablos fi rst base-man Gerardo Verastegui drove in two runs on a single to give El Paso a 5-4 lead, which held until the ninth inning.

It looked as if the Diablos were three outs shy of another win, but the Cats came back with a late in-ning rally. El Paso’s Anthony Plu-ta gave up runs to three of the fi rst four batters as Fort Worth took a 7-5 lead.

The Diablos went into the bot-tom half down two runs, but-clutch batting from Alvarez and outfi elder Tyler Johnson tied the game 7-7 to end the ninth, blow-ing the save for Fort Worth closer Dustin Cameron.

The Diablos grinded their way to a win in the 10th inning behind Ponce’s game-winning single for the 8-7 victory.

In the series fi nale, El Paso was unable to sweep Fort Worth. The Diablos managed to cut the lead down to one, scoring runs in the fi fth, sixth and seventh inning re-ducing Fort Worth’s lead to 7-6. The Cats held the Diablos score-less in the last two innings, while pitcher Ryan Riddle (3-3) took home the win for Fort Worth.

Next for the Diablos is a six-

game road trip against teams

from the North division, starting

with three games at Lincoln, Neb.

followed by three more at Sioux

Falls, S.D.

El Paso returns to Cohen Stadi-

um June 30 to start off a six-game

homestand against the Grand

Prairie Air Hogs at 7:05 p.m.

Salvador Guerrero may be reached at

prospector@utep.edu.

7SPORTSJune 24, 2009 Herman Rojas — Sports Editor

Enjoy a roller coaster?You ain’t seen nothing.

The best 30 minutes of your life!No pilot experience necessary.

575-589-4586or call

816-529-0358

samdawsoncfi.com (click on intro aerobatic flights)

Some restrictions

Diablos take two from division leadersTeam celebrates Cohen Stadium’s 20th anniversary in victorious fashion

Myriam Setra / The Prospector

Diablos pitcher Garvis Romero pitches against the Fort Worth Cats June 20 at Cohen Stadium. El Paso came from behind to win 8-7 in 10

innings. The Diablos currently sit in third place in the South Division, trailing Fort Worth and Grand Prairie.

IN BRIEFTennis aces three for

2009-10 season

Alexandra Glebova (Florida Community College), Austin La-vallii (Mason High School, Mason, Mich.) and Veronika Makashov (Thornhill HS, Richmond Hill, Ontario) will join the team for the 2009-10 season and have signed national letters of intent to play for the Miners starting this fall.

Glebova joins the Miners after spending her fi rst two collegiate seasons playing at FCCJ in Jack-sonville. She played a major role in the school fi nishing in fourth place at the national tournament in 2009.

Lavallii aided her school to four straight league champion-ships. She was named an all-state performer twice, while earning all-state honorable-mention the other two years.

Makashov was a part of the York Region Championship team at her school, which fi nished among the top of the OFSAA provincial rankings. She won a title at the York Championships and won numerous three-star provincial tournaments.

Lavallii and Makashov will have four years of eligibility while Gle-

bova will be eligible for two.

Townsend receives Spirit of Service Award

The off-fi eld accolades continue to come in for softball pitcher Sta-cie Townsend.

Conference USA announced the list of recipients of the Spirit of Service Award, which included the Miner standout. Townsend was among 12 student-athletes to receive the award for the spring.

The award recognizes athlete’s endeavors and services that they have provided in the community. The honorees are also chosen based on academic standing and participation throughout the year in their respective sport.

Townsend volunteered with The Miracle League by assist-ing children with mental and physical disabilities participate in sports. She also volunteered for the YWCA After School Pro-gram, teaching children the ben-efi ts of after school sports as well as spending time with the Junior Women’s club of El Paso.

Townsend is a two-time All Ac-ademic honoree and received the UTEP Alumni Association’s Top 10 Senior Award.

She was one of four Miners to start and play in all 57 games, col-lecting a career-high 18 victories during the 2009 season. At the plate, Townsend hit eight homer-

uns, 10 doubles and 32 RBI.

Golf transfer chooses Miners

The men’s golf team received

a boost to their 2009 recruiting

class with the addition of a former

Texas Longhorn. Devin Miertsch-

in joins the Miners after spending

one season on the Texas squad as

a redshirt freshman.

Miertschin will have all four

years of eligibility remaining be-

ginning with the 2009-10 season.

He is the third El Pasoan to join

the team for the upcoming year.

The former Longhorn was a

standout golfer at Hanks High

School, who won the El Paso

Men’s City Championship in 2005

and 2006. In addition, he was

also a three-time district cham-

pion, a four-time All-Region and

four-time All-District selection.

He was appointed the school’s

Athlete of the Year and the Texas

UIL District 1-5A Athlete of the

Year in 2008.

Miertschin joins Chris Ortiz

(Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS),

David Persons (El Paso, Texas/

Franklin HS) and Ross Rotwein

(El Paso, Texas/Coronado HS) in

the Miners’ 2009 recruiting class.

8 The Prospector • June 24, 2009

Patriots aim for playoff berthEl Paso shoots into fi rst place tie with fi ve games to play

By Christopher S. SilvaThe Prospector

For the past two decades, soccer fever has spread across the Sun City, converting many to become avid fans, who support the El Paso Patriots.

The Patriots, a member of the Mid-South Division of the Pre-miere Development League, bring gut-wrenching action to Patriot Stadium.

“We want to jump out on all the teams that we have an advantage on and try to qualify as early as possible and not wait until the last games of the season,” forward Mi-chael Griego said. “We got a great team and have been doing really well. We could always work on fi nishing and defending, but for the most part we’re a good team.”

El Paso (7-4) has been on a re-cent hot streak, winning three of their last four and moving into a fi rst-place tie with the Austin Az-tex U23s with 21 points apiece, putting them in serious conten-tion for a playoff berth.

For the eighth time, the Patriots managed to qualify for the annual Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tour-nament, the oldest cup competi-tion in the country. The Patriots were one of four amateur teams remaining in the tournament.

El Paso advanced to the second-round, where they matched up June 16 against the Austin Aztex FC. The Aztex a member of the USL-1, proved to be too much for the Patriots losing on the road, 2-0.

Patriots head coach Javier Mc-Donald, said the team has shown excellent progress throughout the season. He has witnessed much growth in the team from the start of the season and feels that they have hit their stride.

During the season the Patriots have dealt with a vigorous sched-ule and injuries that have tested the team. McDonald admits that his team has much to work on, but feels that this is the time they need to step up and make their move in the standings.

“We have had our ups and downs,” defender Diego Ruiz said. “Right now we are getting some players back and hopefully they‘ll come back strong and help us qualify for playoffs.”

Midfi elder Jonathan Camarena stresses the importance of win-ning home games late in the sea-son. The Patriots are 5-2 at home, collecting three clean sheets in the process. This past weekend, El Paso was successful at protecting their home fi eld, taking two from the Houston Leones, 2-0 and 4-0, respectively.

Taking advantage of matches at home is one of the main reasons that the Patriots are in position to capture the division title with fi ve games remaining. The Pa-triots have the luxury of playing on familiar turf and in a hostile environment for opponents has maximized El Paso’s home fi eld advantage.

“We need them (fans), every time we play at home, we don’t like to lose,” Camarena said. “It’s very important. We need our fam-ilies and fans for us to do good.”

The Patriots offensive sets are lead by the dynamic duo of Gr-iego and midfi elder Enrique Cer-vantes. The pair has provided the offensive spark the Patriots des-perately need.

Griego and Cervantes have com-bined for seven of the 14 goals the Patriots have scored throughout the season. Griego has also been one to get others involved. Griego and midfi elder Edgar Mendoza lead the team with two assists each.

Defensively, the Patriots have shown much improvement. They have limited opponents from at-tacking the center of the fi eld, which is an area the Patriots have been vulnerable in the past. The defense has also showed great awareness of the drawing oppo-nents off-sides strategy, doing so on numerous occasions. Unity on both ends of the fi eld is appar-ent, seeing 11 players come and play together has been the differ-ence between the Patriots and the opposition.

That unity will be put to the test as the regular season winds down for the Patriots. With four of their fi nal fi ve game to be played away from Patriots Stadium, the team can ill afford to lose games in the fi nal three weeks, especially with the team in a tight divisional race with Austin and the Laredo Heat, all separated by only four points.

“The key right now is to stay healthy for the practices and games and I think we will do good,” Ruiz said. “They are cru-cial, our group is so close. Any win, any loss could send you up or down a position and we need to qualify for the playoffs.”

The Patriots go on the road June 25 to Grande Communica-tions Stadium. The Patriots look to repeat their dominating perfor-mance against West Texas, a team the Patriots already beat at home, 2-0. The Patriots fi nal home game of the season is July 12 against West Texas.

Christopher S. Silva may be reached at

prospector@utep.edu.

File Photo

Patriots defender Esteban Palacios (white) battles for position on a header against the Laredo Heat. El

Paso is coming off a weekend sweep of the Houston Leones and sits in a tie for first place with Austin.