Coming off one of the program’s best seasons, TCU soccer could not keep up with No. 1 Florida State in their season opener, falling 2-0 to the Seminoles in Tallahassee.
“I think when you have the opportunity to play one of the best teams in the country, there are a lot of different things we can take away from it,” head coach Eric Bell said. “The level of ability to keep the ball, the tactile stuff and the overall effort that they showed was impressive.”
Florida State controlled the tempo for most of the game, scoring in the 17th and 57th minutes and kept TCU on their toes with 21 total shots in the game.
The Horned Frogs, on the other hand, struggled to find scoring opportunities. Their best chance came in the 14th minute, when defender Ariana Owens fed first-year Gracie Brian perfectly, but her header went just wide of the goal.
TCU was held to three shots in the game, including just one in the second half.
Brian was one of five first-year players who made their collegiate debuts in the match.
“We’ve got some good players,” Bell said. “It’s tough to play a team like this the first time out when you are still trying to figure things out, but that’s college soccer. If we can stay healthy and continue to fine tune stuff, I like our chances later on in the season.”
The Horned Frogs are now 3-4-1 in season openers under Bell.
“As I told them, we did some good things in spurts,” Bell said. “Now we have to be able to that on a consistent basis. They showed me the ability to do it right and now it’s about being consistent and doing it all the time.”
The Frogs will head to Birmingham, Ala., for their next matchup against UAB. First kick on Sunday is scheduled for 1 p.m.
