Killer Frogs

TCU Women’s Soccer: Horned Frogs fall 3-0 To USC

TCU suffers its first loss of the season in a bleak and unmotivated performance

Ian Napetian

TCU Soccer Twitter

The undefeated Horned Frogs traveled to Los Angeles to take on the University of Southern California Trojans on Thursday. Only their second ever match against the Trojans, the first since 2010, TCU looked to wrap up the road trip in strong fashion. However, it turned out to be one of the team’s poorer performances of the season as they were defeated 3-0 by the opposition.

The Horned Frogs started strong as they threatened the USC defense through Messiah Bright and Seven Castain. Working on the wing, Castain took on numerous defenders looking for Bright in the box, but these efforts did not amount to points on the board. Bright, coming off an impressive hat-trick performance against UTRGV, struggled to find the back of the net as two clear-cut opportunities in the first half went astray for the Big 12 offensive player of the week.

While the Horned Frogs attacking efforts were thwarted by the Trojans’ defense, Eric Bell’s side did well in the build-up phase and controlled much of the possession early on. Working through Payton Crews, dropping deep to receive the ball, opened up space in behind for her teammates to fill. Dragging her markers out of position also left the Trojans unbalanced when defending.

Unfortunately this movement wasn't enough to stop USC, who came into the game looking to threaten on the counter. Simone Jackson opened the scoring with a cracking effort from outside the box. A beautifully laced shot driven to the right of goalkeeper Lauren Kellett put the Trojans ahead early, changing the outlook for the match entirely. Having gone out in front so early, the game plan was altered from the start. USC could now be very conservative in their approach to attacking as they already got the better of the Horned Frogs. This allowed the Trojans to sit back, possess the ball and soak up pressure before breaking on the counter once again.

On the stroke of halftime the Horned Frogs conceded what appeared to be a careless free kick on the edge of the penalty area. In an instant the Trojan’s extended their lead to 2-0 with a curling free kick from Croix Bethune. Taking a massive deflection off of Olivia Hasler, it just creeped out of reach for Kellett to parry away. The match was at a stalemate for much of the second half until Bethune tallied her second goal of the match.

On the counter against a Horned Frogs defense that was stretched at the back, the Trojans found Bethune who maneuvered past the defender with a step over, striking it into the bottom corner to make it 3-0. Kellett should have likely gotten to the shot as it was to her near post, but it seemed it was just one of those days for the Horned Frogs who seemed to struggle for much of the 90 minutes.

One visible issue for TCU in Thursday’s match was their movement on and off the ball. Taking static first touches allows for the opponent to easily shift and press the player in possession. Without an active touch either moving forward or to the side, it doesn’t allow for any sort of movement to create space upfield. Regarding the TCU build-up, it was simply not quick or sharp enough during this match, making defending it easier.

While TCU has had convincing victories, this loss to USC highlighted several gaps and opportunities that they will need to build on. And to their credit, USC showed their worth, winning this duel on Thursday. The Horned Frogs will make their way back to Fort Worth where they will host nationally-ranked Duke on Sunday in a must-win match for Coach Bell and his team.

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Ian Napetian
IAN NAPETIAN

Ian Napetian is currently pursuing a double-major in Journalism and Sports Broadcasting at TCU. He is the creator and host the sports-talk radio show Riff Ram Review on 88.7 KTCU The Choice. He also hosts pregame and postgame shows for TCU Baseball and Women's Basketball on 88.7 The Choice. Additionally, he enjoys attending TCU sporting events with his friends.

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