Tuesday, October 30, 2001

Frogs outduel Drury
Yellow cards abound as tempers flare in physical battle
By Dan Smith
Skiff staff

J.J. Strong had had enough.

In a match noted for its abundance of yellow cards and trash talking between the two opponents, the sophomore forward was not happy Sunday during the men’s soccer team game against Drury.

Caleb Williams/Skiff Staff Junior defender Adam Williams leaps to head the ball Sunday against Drury. The Frogs won the match, 4-1, in a contest that saw 28 fouls and nine yellow cards. Friday, the Frogs were shut out against Marquette, 1-0. The Frogs play UAB 7 p.m. Friday in Birmingham, Ala.

“They played very physical and talked a lot of trash,” Strong said. “I just got kind of fed up with it all.”

Strong’s revenge: After scoring a goal in the 81st minute, Strong pretended to autograph the soccer ball and handed it to Drury goalkeeper Mike Gallagher, who subsequently nailed Strong in the back with the ball.

The exchange epitomized a heated game Sunday that had 28 fouls and nine yellow cards. The Frogs (5-8-1, 2-4 Conference USA) walked away from the game a bit banged up, but victorious, beating Drury (5-8, 4-1) at Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium.

Tempers especially began to flare late in the game.

In the 80th minute a fight broke out after junior forward Bobby Montes made a pass at the Drury goalkeeper. A minute later, Strong scored his goal. Defenseman Andrew Porteous, freshman forward Jason Deifik, Montes and Strong all scored for the Frogs to lead the team to its third victory in four matches.

On Friday, the Frogs lost 1-0 to Marquette at Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium.

The Frogs held tight for most of the game until forward John Pedroli chipped a ball over Lahoud and into the goal to put Marquette up 1-0 in the 77th minute.

“We played well defensively,” Strong said. “We just let up a fluke goal.”

Junior goalkeeper Michael Lahoud returned from concussion to have eight saves, including two close calls.

The Frogs will face a tough road schedule coming up facing two of the top three teams in C-USA in UAB (12-3, 6-2), and South Florida (12-3, 5-2).

“Both teams will create an interesting mix,” Amos said. “This is our toughest road trip of the season”

Amos said the Frogs need to win three of their next four matches to reach the conference tournament. The Frogs will enter that stretch on a hot streak, outscoring opponents 11-5 in their last four games.

“We have gotten back to who TCU soccer is,” Amos said. “Maybe we don’t deserve to win some games but if our defense gives us a chance, we can give ourselves a chance.”

Lahoud, and Andrew Porteous returned to action Friday. Lahoud returned from a concussion allow only one goal and have eight saves.

Porteous came back from a sprained ankle suffered in September.

The Frogs play UAB 7 p.m. Friday in Birmingham, Ala.

Dan Smith
d.r.smith@student.tcu.edu