Goals were flowing at Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium Thursday night as the TCU soccer team defeated Stephen F. Austin 4-0.
The Frogs outshot the Ladyjacks 33-4 en route to a victory. Three of the four goals were scored by first-year players.
“They’re figuring it out faster than I thought they would,” TCU Head Coach Eric Bell said. “That’s allowing us to progress in a fashion that helped us play some beautiful soccer today.”
TCU began the match in their usual 4-4-2 diamond formation with a few personnel changes – goalkeeper Emily Alvarado, midfielder Tara Smith and forward Maddy Warren each recorded their first start of the season.
Forward Messiah Bright opened the scoring in the second minute when she headed home a cross from defender Chaylyn Hubbard.
“I saw Chaylyn going into the box, and we’ve been talking about making the right runs,” Bright said. “When I saw that I was in the right position, and I was able to score– I was excited.”
In the 47th minute, midfielder Payton Crews played a cross to forward Maddy Warren, who saw her shot saved by Ladyjack goalkeeper Allyson Halliday. The save fell right to Warren and she finished into the corner for the second goal.
Defender Tijana Djuricek added to TCU’s advantage in the 57th minute. Djuricek was in the box for a corner, and after a scramble, she latched onto the end of a pass from midfielder Karitas Tomasdottir and slotted it into the back of the net.
The fourth goal came in the 81st minute when midfielder Tatum Condrey received a pass from Warren and rolled it past the goalkeeper Halliday and over the line.
For Bright, Warren and Condrey, the goals were the first of their respective collegiate careers. Bright said she felt the team was on the same page tonight.
“I thought we kept our composure,” Bright said. “I felt we had the unity that we’ve been looking for in our previous games.”
Bell spoke highly of this year’s recruiting class and, more broadly, said he’s happy with where the program is right now.
“We have a lot of talented players all over the field– they can do different things and play the style of soccer that I’ve always wanted to play since I got here,” Bell said.
The win moves the Frogs to 3-0 on the season and 8-2 in the all-time series against Stephen F. Austin.
TCU soccer returns to the field Sunday against SMU. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
