TCU Soccer moves to 5-0 with win over No. 20 Pittsburgh

No. 6 TCU Soccer picked up their second win over a ranked opponent in the first five games of the season with a hard-fought 1-0 victory on the road at No. 20 Pittsburgh.

Winning on the road is never easy - especially when facing a top-20 team that plays in the best conference in the country - but the Frogs, as always, found a way.

The lone game-winning goal was scored by Michelle Slater just 58 seconds into the second half after a back and forth stalemate of a first half. On paper, it was about as even as it gets. TCU and Pitt both had eight shots and three corner kicks in the first half while the Frogs had only one more save (4-3).

Both teams had a few legitimate chances on goal in the first 45 but nothing ever broke through thanks to Lauren Kellett’s spectacular performance in goal. The sophomore goalkeeper finished the game with a career-high four saves and tallied the third shutout of her career.

“Shutouts are always good,” said Head Coach Eric Bell. “She [Kellett] got a lot of action, but not a lot of dangerous chances. She’s still a bit wet behind the ears, but both of her games this weekend were really solid. I’m really proud of her progression”

The second half is where things got spicy. Slater’s first ever game-winning goal was a sensational blooper over the keeper’s head from just outside the 18-yard-box which inevitably gave the Horned Frogs a massive boost in momentum.

The Frogs went on to control possession for the rest of the second half, holding the Panthers to only one shot on target. The defense was sound all game but certainly excelled in the second half.

“I think we did a better job defensively in the second half,” said Bell. “We didn’t allow them to play a lot in their end. The goal allowed us to be out on our front foot and I really think the early goal deflated them.”

Offensively, the Frogs forced Pittsburgh’s keeper to come up with four quality saves and posted 12 total shots in the second.

Although the score card reads 1-0, I wouldn’t have been surprised in the slightest if TCU were to have knocked through another. As coach Bell said, the Panthers seemed a bit deflated after conceding the early goal and the Frogs did an excellent job taking advantage of that.

1-0, 4-0, hell even 12-0; a win is a win and the frogs couldn’t have asked for a better way to open up their three-game road streak. With today’s win, TCU moves to 5-0 to start the season for the second time in program history and the first time since 2016.

Next up for the Frogs on their week long road trip is Alabama. The Frogs will take on the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa this Thursday at 6 p.m. CST. looking to open the season with six wins for the first time in program history.