No. 5 TCU Soccer Stunned by BYU in Big 12 Tournament Quarterfinal

The No. 5 TCU Horned Frogs suffered defeat on Monday night to the BYU Cougars in the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Soccer Tournament.

BYU came out firing on all cylinders. Within the first five minutes, the Cougars had generated potent attacks. Midfielder Mackenzee Vance stung a shot from the edge of the box that struck the post. That was just a taste of what was to come for the Cougars, who found the breakthrough in the 27th minute.

A missed pass from Cameron Patton fell at the feet of Cougars midfielder Ellie Walbruch. With space in front, Walbruch surged forward and smashed a right-footed effort that rippled the back of the net. It was Walbruch’s 12th goal of the season in what is her first year back from an ACL injury. BYU continued to dominate the first half and entered the break ahead by a goal.

Just two minutes into the second half, though, the Frogs had their moment. Patton whipped in a cross from the edge of the box, which made contact with a Cougars defender. At first, the officials did not call it a penalty, but after the review, the Frogs were awarded a spot kick. Sydney Becerra stepped up and calmly slotted it away, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way. It marks Becerra’s fourth goal of the season, and it tied the match at 1-1.

Moments later, BYU found the lead once more. From a set piece with a narrow angle toward the goal, Walbruch whipped a shot toward the back post, which used the aid of the woodwork to find the back of the net. Just like that, and Walbruch’s brace pushed the Cougars in front in the 51st minute.

While the Frogs fell behind, they found their groove in the second half. Playing much more of their possession-based style of play, TCU generated threatening attacks. In the 70th minute, Grace Coppinger combined with Becerra to pick out AJ Hennessey, who equalized for the Frogs. It was Hennessey’s fifth goal of the year, and it breathed new life into the Frogs.

The Frogs continued to pepper the penalty area and proceeded to hit the woodwork twice in a matter of minutes. Morgan Brown’s header smashed off the crossbar before Becerra was denied by the post with just two minutes to go.

The match moved into overtime, but the teams were stuck in a deadlock. Moving into penalties, the Cougars were victorious 4-3 and knocked off the 1-seed Horned Frogs.

Following the match, head coach Eric Bell said, “First half, I thought we tried to rush things a little bit. We had control of the game for bits and pieces of it, but not enough for me.” He continued, “In the second half, I thought we did really well, created some good chances, and cleared it off the line a couple of times. Sometimes, that's how soccer goes."

What’s Next for the Horned Frogs?

Despite winning the Big 12 regular title, the Frogs will now have to watch the rest of the Big 12 Tournament from home. The Frogs will await their seeding for the NCAA Tournament.