Soccer: TCU earns two wins on Big 12 road trip

TCU Soccer had fallen out of the Top 25 and were continuing a brutal stretch of the schedule with five of six games being away from Fort Worth. The Frogs were opening its Big 12 schedule with three straight road contests, beginning with a draw at preseason conference favorites BYU. This past week the Frogs traveled east for a road trip to Cincinnati on Thursday and West Virginia on Sunday, winning both to improve to 6-3-2 on the season and 2-0-1 in Big 12 play.

TCU 1 - Cincinnati 0

A tentative first half from both sides led into an incredibly physical and chippy second half as both teams were looking to earn a first conference win after coming off draws in their first Big 12 matches of the season. It was ultimately TCU on the front foot for much of the contest, out-shooting the Bearcats 7-3 on the day, with a 7-2 advantage on corner kicks. That second half intensity delivered four yellow cards to the Bearcats, including a takedown inside the box as AJ Hennessey pressed the defender into a turnover and the Bearcat Right Back grabbed Hennessey’s jersey on the way to the goal, granting the Frogs its first penalty kick of the season. Having earned the shot, Hennessey was granted the opportunity from the penalty spot and converted, freezing the goalkeeper and blasting the shot into the net.

TCU 5 - West Virginia 1

On Sunday, the Horned Frogs traveled to Morgantown for a battle with a Mountaineers squad that has traditionally been one of the toughest opponents for TCU Soccer, with a 3-10-3 record all time headed into this contest. TCU had scored just five total goals in the previous eight games combined vs. WVU. The Mountaineers have preseason All-Big 12 goalkeeper Kayza Massey between the posts and often play a slow paced possession game. But on Sunday, the Frogs were able to crash full speed into that parked bus, breaking through for an avalanche of scoring. Seven Castain and Gracie Brian each scored in the first half, both assisted by Cam Lancaster. Castain netted another in the 56th minute to give her her second brace of the Big 12 campaign. WVU pulled one back in the 67th minute to erase the shutout, but no bother as Lancaster got her name on the score sheet again with a strike from distance into the corner of the net to put the Frogs up 4-1. Skylar Heinrich would put the cherry on top of Sunday’s performance in the 85th minute, with her first goal of the season, as TCU left West Virginia with a big win that will help should goal differential be a deciding tiebreaker in the Big 12 race.

The Frogs return home to Garvey-Rosenthal this week for the start of a three game home stand, beginning Thursday night against Kansas State (2-6-3; 0-2-1) at 7:00 PM on ESPN+ and then taking on Oklahoma State on Sunday at 1:00 PM on ESPN+