By James Zwilling skiff staff It took more than 29 games for the men's soccer team to take control of a nearly 20-year rivalry with Southern Methodist. The team learned last weekend that it only takes one game to lose that control. The Horned Frogs fell 3-2 Sunday to the No. 17 SMU Mustangs in the teams' second meeting of the season at Wescott Field on the SMU campus. Head coach David Rubinson said the team was expecting SMU to try to avenge its Oct. 17 loss to the Horned Frogs. "There was no question they were going to come at us," Rubinson said. Junior midfielder Brad Johnson headed in the only goal of the first half into the back of the net off a throw-in by junior defender Mike Martin 13:32 into play.
SMU gained control of the game when junior Matt Whiteley scored his first goal of the game off of a free kick. Johnson answered for the Horned Frogs with his second goal of the game, one minute later, off of an assist by sophomore forward Nick Baker and sophomore midfielder Josh Rife to tie the contest 2-2. Rife leads the Horned Frogs with six goals and three assists followed by Johnson who has accumulated five goals this season. With just over two minutes remaining Whitely scored his second goal of the game to give the Mustangs a 3-2 lead. After carrying the lead most of the game, Rubinson said the last 15 minutes, when TCU finally gave the lead to the Mustangs, were unexpected. "We never quite got settled into a rhythm," he said. "I don't think we ever settled the game down." TCU failed to recover from the goal, falling to the Mustangs 3-2 and extending their season record to 1-1 vs. SMU. SMU, currently 11-3 overall, leads the Western Athletic Conference with a 5-1 conference record. TCU falls to 3-3 in the WAC with a 8-6-1 record overall. Rubinson said he believes a couple of calls by the officials could have made the difference in the outcome of the game. "We had a couple of breakdowns, but the calls really didn't go our way," he said. The second and third goals for SMU were both the result of penalty kicks. Rubinson said the coaching staff as well as the team was obviously unhappy with the loss. "(The coaches) were very disappointed," he said. "The players were very disappointed. We are a better team than the game showed." Rubinson said these games will determine whether they make the playoffs or not. "For us to get into the playoffs we need to finish strong in the WAC," Rubinson said. "This weekend is a revenge factor. That should be motivation enough."
James Zwilling
By Steven Baker staff reporter Although, the men's and women's cross country teams did not win the Western Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships Saturday, most of the runners finished the race with their best times ever. Head track and field coach Monte Stratton said the team can still improve before the next competition, the NCAA South Central Region Championships, but the entire coaching staff is very proud. "Each of the teams reached its potential," he said. "It is very unusual for everyone to do this at the same time." Senior Jared Pope said the runners were pleased with their performances even though they lost, because there were so many personal bests. "On Saturday anybody could have won the title," he said. "Although Rice was better than us that day, it was still a good meet for all of us." Even though Rice University finished the WAC Championships with two team first-place finishes, 10 of the 13 Horned Frog runners had their best times ever while running at TCU. The improved times helped the women's team to a second-place finish and men's to a fourth. Sophomore Glady's Keitany placed second in the women's 5,000 meter race (17:45), while senior David Lagat led the men in the 8,000 meter race with a time of 24:56. Sophomore Katie Singleton was third, 17:57 (personal best), and senior Adrian Martinez was seventh, 25:29 (personal best). Head cross country coach Dan Waters said everyone was mentally and physically prepared for the race. "We were very proud of what everyone did out there, but Patrick Belmont (senior) did an outstanding job running a personal best, and Georgeanne Biancardi (sophomore) also had a very good race," he said. Belmont finished in 23rd, 26:32 (personal best), and Biancardi in 12th, 18:43 (personal best). Other men's finishers were junior Ryan Womack in 20th, 26:27 (personal best), senior Jared Pope in 35th, 26:58 (personal best), sophomore Adam Helm in 37th, 27:03 (personal best) and freshman Justin Speer 27:28 (personal best). The women had four more runners in the top 40: senior Alison Harvey in 19th, 18:59 (personal best); freshman Shannon McKinney in 27th, 19:14 (personal best) and freshman Melody Raffloer in 40th, 19:59 (personal best). Stratton said the 50 degree weather the teams ran in, and the mental and physical preparation led to the good times Saturday. "Running such a long time, the runners build up their body heat," he said. "So the crisp weather helped the speed running of both teams. Sometimes a plan does not always work, but Coach Waters did everything right in preparing the men and women." The men's and women's teams will try and improve upon these times in two weeks at NCAA South Central Region Championships Nov. 13 in Denton.Waters said all the runners that ran in the WAC Championships have a chance to compete in the next race. "There are some teams that are really planning to compete in the race, while there are some that are not," he said. "We are going to make sure we get our goals straight so we can go in there and accomplish something."
Steven Baker
By Victor Drabicky staff reporter The TCU women's soccer team continued to struggle offensively, being shut out three of their last five matches including a 2-0 loss to the University of Texas Friday at the TCU Soccer Complex. Head coach David Rubinson said the team's loss can partially be attributed to a poor offensive performance. "We can't win games unless we score goals," Rubinson said. "For the fourth or fifth game in a row, I feel we have dominated the game and been the better team. We just have not been able to score the goals we need to win games."
Rubinson said he was pleased with sophomore goalkeeper Danielle Reitnouer's play along with the rest of the team. "Danielle has come in and played well these last few games," Rubinson said. "It would have been nice to score some goals and take some of the pressure off of her." Despite a strong first half, the Frogs allowed Texas' Alanna Makinano to score two unassisted goals in the second half to give the Longhorns the win. Sophomore midfielder Jeanine Rogers said the game's outcome was disappointing. "We dominated the game but couldn't score," Rogers said. "It would have been nice to finish the season on a winning note." Junior midfielder Terra Mayfield said the goals could have been prevented. "We completely dominated the game," Mayfield said. "We simply had a few lapses that allowed us to give up two easy goals." Rubinson said the game was characteristic of the women's season overall and that he is already looking to next year. "This game went exactly like our entire season did," Rubinson said. "We played well and lost. Hopefully in the offseason, we will be able to pick up some players that will help fill the gaps we had this season." Freshman Sherry Dick, who was leading the team in goals when she was injured, and sophomore Tiffany Goetz, the Frogs' assist leader at the time of her injury, will return after missing this year's season. Mayfield said she is confident that the team will be able to improve during the offseason. "We have a talented group of players returning next season," Mayfield said. "If we can concentrate on the players we have, we should have a strong season." The Frogs finished the season with a 9-11 record overall and a 2-4 record in Western Athletic Conference play.
Victor Drabicky
Associated Press HONOLULU - It's the kind of turnover that can make or break a season. Trailing 14-6, Hawaii was driving for the tying score late in the third period when the Rainbows' quarterback Dan Robinson's pass to the end zone was tipped and intercepted TCU junior defensive back Russell Gary, who returned it to the Rainbow Warrior 48 yard line. On the next play, freshman quarterback Casey Printers connected with senior receiver Mike Scarborough for a 48-yard touchdown that served as the knockout blow for Hawaii, and the Horned Frogs went on to a 34-14 win Saturday. With that interception went a chance for Hawaii (5-3, 3-2) to grab a tie for the lead in the Western Athletic Conference. Instead, the win pulled TCU (4-4, 3-2) into a tie for second with Hawaii. "It took the wind out of us," Rainbow Warrior coach June Jones said. TCU was able to overcome the loss of junior running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who entered the game as the nation's leading rusher but played sparingly after spraining his left ankle midway through the first quarter. The Horned Frogs rushed for 237 yards, including 99 yards and a touchdown from sophomore Andrew Hayes-Stoker. Tomlinson had 51 yards on eight carries. TCU's defense did the rest, holding Hawaii to 295 yards, 115 below their average. Relentless pressure from the defensive line and blanket coverage by the secondary led to three sacks and 10 hurries of Robinson, the interception and two fumble recoveries, including one in the third quarter on the Horned Frog 35. Robinson finished 25 of 55 for 237 yards and one touchdown, having to unload throws early to avoid sacks. "We did a good job of taking away his first and second reads," TCU defensive coordinator Gary Patterson said. "He didn't have anywhere to go with it." On their next series after the touchdown from Printers to Scarborough, TCU struck again, this time with senior quarterback Patrick Batteaux hitting Scarborough for a 40-yard score to make it 28-6 lead with 12:06 to play. Hawaii pulled within 28-14 with 9:51 left on a 5-yard run and two-point conversion by Hawaii's Avion Weaver, but TCU controlled the ball for the next 7:49, with Batteaux capping a 14-play, 92-yard drive with an 8-yard run. "The last drive was big," TCU coach Dennis Franchione said. TCU capitalized on a Hawaii turnover on the third play of the game to grab a 7-0 lead. Linebacker junior Shannon Brazzell knocked the ball out of Robinson's hands on Hawaii's 9-yard line. The ball rolled to the end zone and was recovered by lineman senior J.W. Wilson.
By Matt Stiver staff reporter Although the Region VI Tournament did not produce any championships for TCU players, head coach Michael Center said the performance of the team speaks for itself. "For us to place four players in the final 16 when no other school had more than two, I thought was very impressive," Center said. "I thought we were the second-best team at the tournament" Two TCU players made their way into the quarterfinals. Junior Trace Fielding, seeded No. 12 at the tournament, advanced to the round of 16 with a three-set victory over Gerardo Mulus of Southern Methodist. After falling behind in the first set, Fielding rallied in the second for a 3-6, 7-6 (2), 7-5. After rain forced the tournament indoors Saturday, Fielding again was forced to rally, and again he did. Bort Martincevic of Texas Tech, seeded No 6, took the first set, 6-4. Fielding fought back in the second, winning 7-5 in a tiebreaker and put the match away in the third, 6-3. Center said Fielding is developing as a player. "He battled his way through some tough matches," Center said. "Trace is maturing. I think Trace has one of the biggest, if not the biggest serve in college tennis. Just his serve alone will allow him to compete with anyone in the nation, and he's proving that. In six months, he's cracked into the polls, and I think he's ready to take that next step up into the Top 25." Fielding lost in the quarterfinals, on two tiebreakers, 7-6(5), 7-6(3) to Johann Jooste of Baylor. Jooste entered the tournament as the second seed. Junior Martin Jirak, who opened the tournament with an upset over Toby Hannson of SMU, moved into the round of 16 by defeating another seeded opponent, Nick Crowell of Texas, in straight sets, 7-6 (4), 6-1. Jirak entered the tournament unseeded. Oscar Johannson of Arkansas, seeded No. 5, would not become Jirak's latest victim. Johannson, who lost in the finals, defeated Jirak, 6-4, 6-3. Jirak ended the tournament with a 4-1 record and defeated two seeded players. Jirak said his performance was important. "I needed to get wins like that," Jirak said. "They really helped my confidence. I had been injured for a while, and I hadn't been able to practice. I think I played well against Johannson. The match was close. He just made some good shots." Center said Jirak's performance did not surprise him. "I think Martin showed what he was capable of doing," Center said. "I knew he was capable of making the quarterfinals or beyond. Martin had a chance to beat Johannson but lost a tough first set. He's very fast, so he can make a lot of balls. When he stays aggressive, he serves the ball well. He should gain a lot of confidence from this weekend."
Matt Stiver |
TCU held the lead until the 74th minute of the game when
SMU sophomore Mohamed Fahim scored from inside the box to tie the match
1-1.
Defensively, the Frogs continued to play
well holding Texas to only 11 total shots and keeping them scoreless in
the first half.| The TCU Daily Skiff © 1998, 1999 Credits |