The Horned Frog women’s soccer team will rely on contributions from younger players for the upcoming season, Head Coach Dan Abdalla said.

Abdalla said defensively the team will rely on underclassmen like Katie Taylor and Alex Mechalske to step up. Taylor and Mechalske will be vying for playing time early in the season, he said. The team will also look to junior Jordan Calhoun and senior Jackie Torda in leading the offense this season.

Torda and Taylor were named in the top 38 players in the country last season by Soccer News Net.

Calhoun stands only two goals from breaking the team’s career scoring record, but said she is not worried about breaking the record.

“I may get a lot of assists this year, so I’m not worried about breaking the record because I just hope we win,” Calhoun said.

Calhoun said she thought one of the team’s biggest strengths this year was the excess of players on the bench, unlike previous years.

“Players can get in and work as hard as they can,” she said. “And then we can sub them out without the performance level dropping.”

Abdalla said the key to the Horned Frogs’ success this season will not be physical talent. The Frogs have the physical abilities necessary to win the conference, but the team’s success will hinge on players’ consistency of effort and concentration.

He said he has been preaching for the players to play a full 90-minute game without any lapses in concentration and emphasizing simulating games in practice to help players find their rhythm.

After a loss in the season opener at Texas Tech Friday and a home win against Texas Southern Saturday, the Frogs will continue to play at home for the next three non-conference games. The Horned Frogs will have a chance to establish some momentum early in the season against the University of Southern California Friday night at Garvey-Rosenthal Stadium.

TCU Women’s Soccer vs. USC

When: 7:00 p.m. Friday

Where: Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium