No. 5 TCU clinched its second straight regular season Big 12 title with a 2-0 win over Houston on Thursday. The Horned Frogs went 5-0 down the stretch of the regular season to storm up the Big 12 standings
and defend their conference title. This win clinched the fourth Big 12 regular season title in the last six years for the Horned Frogs, who finished 9-1-1 in Big 12 play this season.
TCU had the first few chances in the game with a corner kick in the second minute and a shot by Sydney Becerra that missed high in the fourth minute. The Horned Frogs pushed again in the eighth minute with shots from Cameron Patton and Becerra. Morgan Brown recorded the first shot on goal of the game for TCU that was saved by the Houston goalkeeper in the 11th minute.
Houston created its first dangerous chance of the game with a shot on goal in the 18th minute that was saved by Olivia Geller for TCU. The Horned Frogs then struck to open the scoring in the 19th minute with a goal from AJ Hennessey and an assist from Becerra. Hennessey launched a missile from outside the box to beat the Cougar goalie and give the Horned Frogs a 1-0 lead.
Houston looked for an equalizer with a shot on goal in the 25th minute, but Geller made a nice save to maintain the TCU lead. Both offenses hit a bit of a lull before Grace Vest tallied a shot on goal in the 40th minute that was stopped by the Houston goalkeeper. The Frogs controlled play in the first half and that showed up in the shot totals with TCU leading the category 10-3 through the first 45 minutes.
TCU did not let their foot off the gas in the second half as Kamdyn Fuller, Becerra, and Seven Castain recorded shots in the 47th, 49th, and 50th minutes respectively. Emma Yolinsky then recorded a shot on goal in the 53rd minute that was saved before giving the Horned Frogs a 2-0 lead with a goal in the 57th minute. Patton made a great play to corral a long pass and find a way to get Yolinsky the ball as she picked up an assist on the play.
The Horned Frogs continued to push with a shot from Vest in the 65th minute that resulted in a corner kick which was defended well by the Cougars. Houston upped their offensive aggressiveness down the stretch with a shot that missed high in the 71st minute and a shot on goal in the 74th minute that was saved by Geller. A foul on Houston in the 80th minute resulted in TCU being awarded a penalty kick.
Castain put the shot on goal but the Houston goalkeeper made a nice play to prevent a goal. Houston then lost a player, as they were called for a red card in the 82nd minute, but managed to make one last offensive push with a shot on goal in the 83rd minute that was saved by Geller. The Horned Frogs held the Cougars without a shot the rest of the way and sealed the 2-0 victory.
With the regular season coming to a close, the Horned Frogs will next compete in the Big 12 tournament, which is taking place in Fort Worth this year. Top seeded TCU will first face off against the No. 8 seed BYU on Monday, Nov. 3 at 2 p.m. at Garvey-Rosenthal Stadium.
