TCU Women’s Soccer Non-Conference Schedule Recap

TCU Soccer kicks off conference play against Texas tomorrow evening versus Texas at home. Before the Frogs take on the #23 Horns, let’s take a moment to review how they’ve arrived at 5-2-2 halfway through the season with a full slate against the Big 12 coming up.

August:

The Frogs faced four Teams in August to get the season started: Wisconsin, Minnesota, #16 Santa Clara, and UTRGV; not losing a game. They began the season with a 0-0 tie in the home and season opener, battling with a player down after a red card in the 63’. Three days later, the Frogs captured their first win of the season against Minnesota with a come-from-behind win centered on a pair of late goals with only six and four minutes of game time remaining (respectively). The win showed off the team’s tenacity and should help build a foundation to face late-game challenges later in the season.

On August 25, the Frogs faced their highest-ranked competition at that point of the season; facing then #16 Santa Clara at home. The Frogs dominated the game entirely, defeating Santa Clara 7-0 with five goals coming in the second half. In all, six different Frogs scored goals and the team extended their unbeaten streak at the time to 17 games. To cap off the month of August, the Frogs traveled to South Texas and took care of business against an overmatched University of Texas Rio Grande Valley team; winning solidly 5-0.

September:

If anything, September showed the Frogs that each game carries significant weight and keeping a foot on the gas is important—even in non-conference play. Facing five opponents so far in September, the Frogs have gone 2-2-1 in the month.

The Frogs started off with their first loss of the season, 0-3, and failing to score a goal while dropping a game to USC out in Los Angeles. The losing streak continued as the Frogs took on a stellar #2 Duke team, losing 3-1 in a hard-fought contest that Duke ultimately controlled through pace and the Frogs getting outshot by an opponent for the first time this season. TCU went down 3-0 before scoring their lone goal in the 68’. One bright spot in the contest was the loyalty of Frogs fans—setting an attendance record of over 3,600 at Garvey-Rosenthal.

TCU broke the losing streak the following week, defeating #21 A&M 2-1 in College Station. Tied 1-1 after the first half, the game was tight in the second half until a late goal after a pass interception in the 86’ put the Frogs up for good. On September 11, the Frogs shutout Texas State, 3-0, behind a pair of goals from Tyler Isgrig and one from Messiah Bright. Last week, the Frogs wrapped up non-conference play against #16 Harvard at Garvey-Rosenthal with a 2-2 tie. Without irony, the game was close, as the teams traded goals in each half, ending with two apiece. Messiah Bright scored both goals for TCU at the 6’ and 71’ marks—her sixth and seventh of the season to date.

Looking Ahead:

As it stands today, the Frogs are halfway through their season, and the only remaining ranked opponent (as of this writing) is #23 Texas, the conference play opener. The Frogs should be well prepared for conference play based on the caliber of non-conference opponents; however, anything can happen during conference play so we’re hoping the early tests have left the Frogs aware of this and ready to keep their foot on the gas in preparation for the postseason. After facing Texas at home on Thursday, the remaining home games for TCU are: West Virginia (Oct. 6), Iowa State (Oct. 9), and Texas Tech (Oct. 27).