Emily Parrott's job as the goalkeeper for the UTEP soccer team is to be the last line of defense, to adjust and adapt when everything is going wrong.
That's a mentality that has served her well in the last 11 months when the Miners lost their fall season, then ad-libbed a first-ever spring regular season.
The Conference USA portion of the season begins Sunday against Louisiana Tech, as UTEP begins a stretch without head coach Kathryn Balogun, who is on maternity leave for the birth of her first child.
The path here has been long and strange and Parrott can't wait for the next step.