By James Zwilling Skiff staff The TCU men's soccer team fell 3-5 in their home opener Wednesday to the undefeated St. Mary's University Rattlers. St. Mary's took control early in the game when senior forward Que Willis scored from 18 yards out. It was not until 10:34 into the half when the Horned Frogs junior forward Nic Finn scored off an assist from junior midfielder Doak Van Enk to tie the game at 1-1. St. Mary's forward Juan Beracochea responded three minutes later when he scored off a free kick resulting from a TCU penalty. Finn said he believes the Horned Frogs came into the first half playing a little soft. "We played with the intensity of a three-toed sloth," Finn said. "Perhaps we were not as motivated as we needed to be, but there are still no excuses." The Frogs struggled to gain control of the ball and with 21:13 left in the period St. Mary's Russell Williams scored giving the Rattlers a lead 2-1. Sophomore defender Davis Bland said the early goals frustrated the Horned Frogs who allowed only one goal in their first two games of the season. "In the first period we came out too soft, and the defense was not working the ball," Bland said. St. Mary's added their final goal of the period when Willis scored his second unassisted goal of the game to carry his team to a 3-1 lead. However, TCU's offense managed to get through their defenders with the help of freshmen midfielder Ryan Parsley who scored his first goal of the season to shrink the deficit to 4-2 at the half. Junior goalie Ian Keate allowed more goals than he has all season and recorded only one save for the first period. Assistant coach Blake Amos said he believes a lack of veteran leadership should be attributed to the results of the first period. "We are looking for an upperclassmen to make a difference," Amos said. "When Ian struggles the most out of anyone, it is hard for us to win a game." Headed into the second period, coaches said they were looking for more enthusiasm from their players. "We asked them to simply play with more energy," Amos said. The second half began with another goal by St. Mary's Willis resulting in a three-point spread for the two teams. It was not until now that TCU responded to the coaches' request. "When we were facing a three-goal deficit we just had to throw forward," Finn said. The Horned Frogs' offense responded by taking control of the ball for nearly the entire second period, while the defense allowed only one shot on goal. "In the second period we came out with an attitude and dominated," Bland said. TCU failed to convert on several penalty kicks and corner kicks and remained scoreless in the second period until 13:55 was left in the game. Junior forward Charlie Schulz added a goal following an assist from Finn, tightening the gap to 5-3. The goal came after St. Mary's replaced their starting goalie, senior Ryan Phillips with freshmen goal keeper Scott LeBleu. The once three-goal deficit proved to be too much for the Horned Frogs who were unable to score during the remainder of the period ending the game 3-5. Amos said he believes that the loss may be very detrimental to the team's success. "It is very hard to play a team that nobody knows," Amos said. "It is hard to get the team fired up. Unfortunately, this could very potentially knock us out of the NCAA tournament." The Horned Frogs whose record now stands at 0-2-1 face off against the University of Texas-Dallas 4 p.m. Tuesday at the TCU Soccer Complex.
By Omar Villafranca staff reporter Three was the magic number this past weekend for freshman forward Sherry Dick. She scored the first three goals of her collegiate career during the Lady Frogs' first round win over Louisiana State University.
The Lady Frogs took on LSU Friday in their first match of the Bear Invitational at Baylor. The crowd of more than 250 fans that gathered at the Jim Julie Turner Riverfront Athletic Complex did not have to watch long for TCU's first goal. The Lady Frog's offense kept the ball on the Tigers' side of the field early in the game. TCU's offensive attack and an assist by senior midfielder Allison Calleri allowed Dick to score the games opening goal in the third minute of play. Less than eight minutes later, the same duo hooked up again, giving Dick her second goal of the season and TCU a 2-0 lead. The Lady Frog defense shut down LSU's offense in the first half, holding the LSU Tigers to only one cornerkick in the first half. The second half of the match continued to go the Lady Frogs' way. During the second minute of play in the final half, junior midfielder Jennifer Maunder punched in a pass from freshman forward Jenn Coulson to up the TCU lead to 3-0. The bleeding did not stop there for the Tigers. Less than four minutes past before Dick recorded her third goal of the game and her first career hat-trick. LSU's defense continued to break down, allowing three more goals in the 66th, 87th and 89th minute of play. By the time the referee blew the closing game whistle, the Lady Frogs had amassed their third consecutive shutout of the season. The Lady Frog's second match of the tournament was against host Baylor. The then-No.19 ranked Bears scored early in the game. Baylor senior forward Courtney Saunders put Baylor's first goal on the board in the ninth minute of play. The Lady Frog's offense stalled in the first half, leaving Baylor with a 1-0 lead after the first half. Nine minutes into the second half, Megan Townes of Baylor knocked in the second and final goal for the Bears. TCU's offense tried to answer back, but was ultimately shut out by the Baylor defense. "Baylor's a good team. We just weren't able to get our offense going like we have the last three games," TCU coach David Rubinson said in a news release. The Lady Frogs record now stands at 3-1, and they continue their season tomorrow in Amherst, Mass., at the University of Massachusetts Classic. Their opponents will be Harvard in the first round and U-Mass Sunday. |
Dick and the TCU women's soccer team spent
the weekend taming the LSU Tigers 7-0 before being fed to the Baylor University
Bears, 2-0.| The TCU Daily Skiff © 1998, 1999 Credits |