2022 Season Recap: TCU Soccer

The Frogs had another excellent season in 2022 under head coach Eric Bell, making the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament and finishing in the top 10 for the 3rd straight season. TCU also made it to the Big 12 tournament championship game after victories in the quarter and semifinals over Kansas and Oklahoma respectively. TCU soccer continues to be one of the premiere programs in the nation, finishing the 2022 season with an overall record of 14-5-5 and a 5-1-3 record in conference play.

Season Overview:

Regular Season: The Frogs started off the 2022 season with a 3-game homestand, facing off against Wisconsin first. The Frogs and Badgers combined for 7 shots on goal with the season opener ending in a 0-0 draw. TCU played with just 10 players from the 63rd minute on due to a red card but still managed to outshoot Wisconsin 7-4 in the second half. The Frogs’ first goal of the season would come late in their next game against Minnesota from an excellent corner kick from Tyler Isgrig, tying the game in the 84th minute. Megan Reilly would put the Frogs ahead 2-1 in the 86th minute and that score would hold for TCU’s first victory of the season. Next up was a match-up with #16-ranked Santa Clara in Fort Worth. TCU dominated from the jump as 6 different Frogs scored on the way to a resounding 7-0 victory. The Frogs had their first road game of the season next, playing at UTRGV. Senior Messiah Bright recorded her second career hat trick in this game, leading the Frogs to a 5-0 victory. TCU would suffer their first defeat of the season in a road trip to California against USC with a final score of 3-0. The Frogs lost their second straight game, this time at home against 2nd-ranked Duke 3-1 in front of a record-setting 3,648 fans at Garvey-Rosenthal stadium. The Frogs would rebound quickly, collecting a victory over a top 25 Texas A&M team on the road in College Station 2-1 thanks to goals from Camryn Lancaster and Tyler Isgrig. The Frogs won their next game on the road against Texas State 3-0 due in part to another great performance from Isgrig who had 2 goals and an assist in this game. Next were two straight home games against top 25 opponents in #16 ranked Harvard and #23 ranked Texas. TCU tied Harvard 2-2 with both Frog goals coming from Messiah Bright who had 5 shots and 3 total shots on goal on the day. The Frogs would also end their game against Texas in a draw, this time with a final score of 1-1. On the schedule was a road trip to Kansas as TCU would play at Kansas and at Kansas State in back-to-back games. The Frogs won both games 1-0 with the goal against Kansas coming from Gracie Bryan off of a Camryn Lancaster cross and the goal against Kansas State coming from Chaylyn Hubbard. TCU would then tie West Virginia 1-1 before winning 2 straight over Iowa State and Oklahoma State, both by a score of 3-0. The win over Iowa State was a dominant one as the Frogs recorded 32 shots and did not allow a shot on goal in the game. The win over Oklahoma State was goalkeeper Lauren Kellet’s 6th shutout on the season and the Frogs took advantage of two OSU fouls, burying 2 penalty kicks in the game. The Frogs would drop their next game on the road to Oklahoma but bounce back with a nice 2-0 win over Baylor in Waco. TCU finished the regular season with a 0-0 draw at home against Texas Tech.

Big 12 Tournament: The Frogs earned the number 2 overall seed in the Big 12 tournament, setting up a matchup against Kansas in the quarterfinals. TCU won 5-1 over the Jayhawks thanks to two goals from Sarah Melcher. The Frogs’ 5 goals set a program record for most goals scored in a single Big 12 tournament game and Kansas’s only goal came in the last minute of the game. The Frogs carried the momentum over into their next game, getting revenge on the Sooners with a resounding 3-0 victory in the tournament semifinals. Messiah Bright became the only player in program history to score 50 goals in a career in this game as the TCU defense was dominant as well, holding the Sooners to just 2 shots on goal as Lauren Kellet recorded her 9th shutout of the season. In the Big 12 championship game, the Frogs lost a heartbreaker to West Virginia in overtime 1-0.

NCAA Tournament: The Frogs were selected to their 7th straight NCAA tournament as a #5 seed in the Notre Dame quadrant and were matched up with UTSA for a first-round matchup in Fort Worth. The Frogs won 3-1 with Brenna Brosam and Camryn Lancaster scoring within 3 minutes of each other in the second half to take and extend the lead. A game with Michigan State in very cold weather in South Bend was the second-round matchup for TCU. Camryn Lancaster scored the game’s only goal very early in the first half as the Frogs advanced to the Sweet Sixteen to face Notre Dame. Goalkeeper Lauren Kellet had an excellent game against the Spartans, recording 6 saves to shut out Michigan State and help the Frogs advance. TCU was eliminated in a loss to Notre Dame 2-0 but had a phenomenal season in 2022.

Honors and Awards:

The Frogs racked up a ton of all-conference honors in 2022, with Grace Coppinger winning Big 12 freshman of the year and Gracie Bryan, Messiah Bright, Chaylyn Hubbard, Lauren Kellet, and Camryn Lancaster all being named all-Big 12 first team. Olivia Hasler was selected to the all-Big 12 second team while Coppinger, Kennedy Clountz, Seven Castain, and Tyler Isgrig earned Big 12 All-Freshman team selections. Hubbard, Bright, and Brian also earned first-team All-Region honors for the Midwest Region, and Lancaster was selected to the All-Region third-team. Messiah Bright earned All-American recognition for the second straight season, being named to the All-American second team. Gracie Brian also was awarded national recognition, making the All-American third team. The TCU coaching staff was voted as the Midwest Region Staff of the Year for the third consecutive season. Head coach Eric Bell and his staff led the Frogs to yet another very successful season with two victories in the NCAA tournament, a trip to the Big 12 Championship game, and tons of postseason awards and selections. TCU soccer remains one of the most consistently great programs in the nation and should continue to contend for championships in 2023.