Soccer: Trio of Horned Frogs reach double-digit goals as No. 8 TCU adds to win streak

Caroline Kelly, Bella Diorio, and Seven Castain each log her tenth goal of the season as TCU earns road wins at UCF & Iowa State

TCU Soccer has climbed into the Top 10 of the national rankings and has run its unbeaten streak to eleven consecutive contests, picking up a pair of road wins last week, besting UCF in Orlando on Thursday 4-2 and Iowa State in Ames 4-1 on Sunday. The Horned Frogs’ offense has exploded, scoring multiple goals in eight of the last ten games, leading the Big 12 in goals scored by half a goal per game and now has three players tied atop the conference scoring leaders. Caroline Kelly, Bella Diorio, and Seven Castain each netted her 10th goal of the season, along with the league’s assist leader Oli Pena.

TCU 4 – UCF 2

The road trip opened with an offensive onslaught in Orlando from the Horned Frogs. TCU was peppering the UCF goal all night, firing 22 shots as the dynamic distribution in attack from Cams Lancaster & Patton facilitated the surgical finishing of Castain, Kelly, and Diorio. Kelly delivered her second multi-goal game of the season, scoring once in the first half and then putting the nail in the Knights’ coffin as a superbly executed 84th minute free kick found her head off the re-direct assist from Castain.

TCU controlled the day defensively as well, with Megan Plaschko making four saves in front of goal and the result was never in doubt. The win was a program first over UCF, as the Knights knocked the Frogs out of the 2023 Big 12 Tournament.

TCU 4 – Iowa State 1

The Horned Frogs had a quick turnaround to another road trip, but showed no signs of fatigue. Again the TCU offense controlled the day, orchestrating beautiful music to find open space and clean looks on goal, dominating possession and pressuring the Cyclone defenders throughout the contest. Bella Diorio was the star of the day, scoring twice and assisting another. AJ Hennessey scored her fourth goal of the season in the opening minutes of the 2nd half, as the ISU defenders allowed her to waltz uncontested down the field into the box before putting a nasty move to free up a direct lane to shoot on target

Bella Diorio added another score moments later to give her a second multi-goal game on the season while Caroline Kelly always in the right place at the right time directed a Diorio pass into the net to give the Frogs a four-goal lead before conceding one late for the Cyclones to avoid the shutout.

The Horned Frogs improved to 13-2-2 on the season and 8-0-2 in Big 12 play. TCU wraps up the regular season on Friday night in Stillwater, OK vs. Oklahoma State.