TCU Women’s Soccer: Nothing separates the Frogs and the Mountaineers in 1-1 draw

Horned Frogs suffer a devastating draw after late own goal

Coach Eric Bell and the Horned Frogs were looking to secure their third-consecutive victory as the West Virginia Mountaineers came into Fort Worth on Thursday. The Frogs were coming off the back of two 1-0 victories against Kansas and Kansas State, but were unable to take all three points from the Mountaineers who equalized late on.

It was a cagey first half, for both sides, to say the least. While neither team found their rhythm, the Horned Frogs grew into the contest as the match went on. With Messiah Bright leading the lines up top, she found herself in promising positions while Camryn Lancaster and Kennedy Clountz threatened along the flanks.

While the attack continued to pose problems for West Virginia, the Horned Frog defense stood tall and stout. Earning her third-consecutive start, freshman defender Grace Coppinger commanded and anchored the backline throughout the match. Between the backline and defensive midfielders Payton Crews and Oli Peña putting in tremendous shifts, the TCU defense remained compact and worked as a well-oiled unit.

The stalemate broke open in the 39th minute when freshman winger Seven Castain blasted a right-footed shot past West Virginia’s Kayza Massey. Castain’s first goal of her collegiate career led the Frogs past the Mountaineers going into halftime.

39' Grace Coppinger ➡️ Seven Castain for the 1-0 lead 😈#GoFrogs pic.twitter.com/q46kfxBvi9

— TCU Soccer (@TCUSoccer) October 7, 2022

Following the break, West Virginia grew into the match as the Horned Frogs play became sloppy at times with misguided passes and losing possession. Despite the chances the Mountaineers created, goalkeeper Lauren Kellett showed her agility, coming up with big saves. Throughout the second half, the Horned Frogs continued to assault the Mountaineer defense, but were unable to add to their tally, allowing for the visitors to stay in the game.

It was not until the 80th minute when Mountaineer winger Lauren Segalla crossed the ball into a dangerous area and it was deflected into the net by defender Chaylyn Hubbard for an own goal.

A goal against the run of play, it was both an unlucky and a devastating time to concede for the Horned Frogs who had played a fine game up to that point.

The Frogs struggled to extend their lead despite accumulating 15 shots, five of which were on target. Following the match, Coach Bell said, “We have to be clinical in our approach in front of goal.” Bell continued, “I guess I would be more concerned if we weren’t creating those chances… it’s promising, we just have to convert more of the chances we’re creating.”

With the Frogs’ next match scheduled for Sunday against Iowa State, Castain said, “We have to play that full 90 minutes as a team and doing what we’re supposed to do… we can’t let up for one minute and get a goal scored on us.”

TCU has drawn its third game in the last five but will look to rebound against the Iowa State Cyclones on Sunday.

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