Soccer: TCU remains undefeated in the Big 12 with win & draw in road swing at Houston & Baylor

The Horned Frogs storm past the Cougars and battle back for a with draw with Waco

The No. 23-ranked TCU Soccer team went on a two-game Lone Star State road trip, visiting Houston and Waco for a pair of Big 12 games as the season enters its final weeks. The Frogs picked up four big points with the win over the Houston Cougars on Thursday and a draw with the Baylor Bears on Sunday. The results have the Frogs sitting in fourth place in the conference, two points behind Colorado, Texas Tech, and West Virginia.

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TCU 3 – Houston 1

The Horned Frogs took it to the Cougars on Thursday night, dominating possession and firing shots on goal throughout the night. TCU opened the scoring with ten minutes to play in the first half as Camryn Lancaster drew a yellow card on Houston’s Aryanna Jimison, blowing past her after a steal. That earned possession led to a ball sent into the box that was flicked in front of goal by Morgan Brown to Lauren Memoly who turned it into the net for the TCU advantage through halftime.

Early in the second half the Horned Frogs earned a corner kick that was executed like a perfect training routine; Bella Diorio swung the entry across goal where Morgan Brown was waiting at the back post, rising high above the crowd and smashing the header into the goal with authority

The Frogs would extend the lead as a long Lancaster pass found Caroline Kelly streaking in attack down the left wing where she put a move on the defender and sent the strike near-post beyond Cougars GK Maggie Manning, a true freshman making her first collegiate start. The Frogs would concede a score to UH as Jimison put on the late game burst of speed past the defenders and fired a shot that was turned away forcefully by Megan Plaschko, though unfortunately right to the waiting feet of trailing attacker Juliet Moore who put Houston on the board. Plaschko made a season-best five saves on the night as Houston made the most of its few opportunities, putting shots on target.

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TCU 1 – Baylor 1

The Horned Frogs headed to Waco on Sunday, facing off with former Frog forward Tyler Isgrig and goalkeeper Azul Alvarez, now members of the Baylor Bears. TCU was on the front foot for most of the game, again controlling possession and absolutely peppering Alvarez with shots all afternoon, firing 28 shots for the game with eight aimed on target. The game went to halftime scoreless and remain so until just before the 60-minute mark. The Bears sent in a deep cross for a header that sent TCU GK Olivia Geller leaping in effort to make the stop; the crossbar turned that shot away, but left a floating deflection for Hannah Augustyn to direct into the open net and give the Bears the advantage.

The Frogs had no quit however, striving for that equalizer and more to keep its unbeaten streak alive. TCU continued to demonstrate crisp passing in possession, as AJ Hennessey distributed to Lancaster who found Diorio in a bit of open space in the box where she took a light touch and sent a strike into the upper left corner of the goal where Alvarez had no chance at the save. Both keepers would make a series of saves over the closing 15 minutes to preserve the draw and the point in the standings.

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Next: TCU improved to 8-2-2 (3-0-2) and will head back on the road on Saturday afternoon for a huge contest in the Big 12 race, taking on conference co-leaders Colorado Buffaloes (10-1-1, 4-0-1), in a big opportunity to push for a conference title.