Sept. 20, 2012
FORT WORTH – The TCU women’s soccer team wraps up its non-conference schedule Friday night when they travel to Colorado for a match against Denver. Match time is slated for 8 p.m. TCU has won three straight matches.
FOLLOW THE FROGS
Fans interested in following along with Friday’s match at Denver can do so via live stats or through a webstream provided by Denver University. The webstream is a subscription based product. Both links can be found on the women’s soccer schedule.
TCU NOTABLES
The Horned Frogs put together an impressive 2-0-0 weekend that saw them post a pair of 1-0 victories. The two shutouts gives TCU five on the season.
Vittoria Arnold made seven total saves on the weekend to push her shutout streak to three games and 293 minutes. Arnold’s efforts between the posts garnered her Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors. It’s TCU’s second straight week to be honored with a Player of the Week.
The Frogs took 21 shots in Friday’s win over Houston Baptist, but it was on a own goal scored by the Huskies that helped lead the Frogs to victory. The shot that led to goal was initially taken by Rebekah Foreman. Brittany Slyman and Kelly Johnson teamed up for the only goal of the match against North Texas. The Frogs handed the Mean Green their first home loss since the 2010 campaign. Kelly Johnson took four of the Frogs’ nine total shots in the game.
With the win at North Texas, TCU improved to 2-0-1 away from home this season. Both victories have come via the shutout.
DENVER NOTABLES
Denver has an eight match unbeaten streak heading into Friday night’s contest. The Pioneers last loss was a 1-0 setback in the season-opener against Colorado College on Aug. 17.
Prior to a 3-3 tie at Texas on Sunday, the Pioneers had won five straight matches. In that stretch, they outscored their opponents 12-1. The lone goal allowed was to Colorado on Sept. 7. Denver had to rally from a two-goal deficit to force overtime against Texas on Sunday. Kristen Hamilton’s fourth goal of the season tied the game in the 85th minute, just two minutes after Nicholette DiGiacomo had made it a one-goal contest. Pioneer goalkeeper Lara Campbell made four saves on seven shots faced. She leads the team with a 0.78 goals against average. Katy Van Lieshout’s first half goal against Kansas in Friday’s win stood up as the game-winner. Campbell made five saves in tallying her fourth shutout of the season.
Denver is 2-0-0 at home this season with wins over Colorado and UC Irvine. The Pioneers are averaging 4.0 goals per game at home.
STREAKING
The Frogs have put together a three-match winning streak, their first since winning the first three matches of the 2009 season. The last time that the Frogs won more than three in a row was in 1997 when they won six in a row.
A BLANKING
All five of TCU’s victories have come via the shutout. It marks the second straight season the Horned Frogs have notched five shutouts in a season. The school record for shutouts in a season is eight set during the 1988 season. The Frogs have handed out three straight shutouts for the first time since Sept. 7-17, 1996. TCU has recorded 116 shutouts in program history.
STINGY DEFENSE
TCU has allowed just six goals in nine matches this season. The six goals allowed ranks second in the Big 12. Only Baylor has allowed fewer goals, surrendering four in its first 10 contests.
WRAPPING UP NON-CONFERENCE
Friday’s match against Denver marks the final non-conference game of the season. TCU has assured itself of a record above .500 as it sits at 5-3-1 overall. Non-conference has been kind to the Horned Frogs over the last four-plus seasons. Since the start of 2008, the Frogs are 34-21-4 in non-conference action. In its history, TCU is 170-184-25 in non-conference play. TCU didn’t start playing conference games until the 1995 season. Since joining a conference, TCU is 96-105-12 in non-conference play.
SERIES HISTORY - DENVER
TCU and Denver are meeting for just the second time on the pitch. The lone meeting came during the 2009 campaign when both took part in the Colorado College Invitational.
On Sept. 13, 2009, Denver handed the Horned Frogs a 3-2 defeat. Kristen Halverson and Jordan Calhoun each tallied first half tallies, but it was a goal in the 52nd minute that doomed TCU. Elise Kensinger is the only member on the roster who played in the contest. She came off the bench and tallied a shot on goal.
The goalkeeper for Denver was Lara Campbell, who is still a member of the Pioneers’ squad. She made four saves on six shots. Also appearing in that game and still on the Denver roster were Katilin Bast and Katy Van Lieshout. Bast assisted on the game winner.
