Senior Messiah Bright scored her second game-winning goal of the season, as No. 8 TCU soccer topped Kansas 1-0 in Fort Worth Thursday night to open up Big 12 play.

Coming off of last week’s loss against No. 6 Pepperdine, the Frogs were looking to improve in several different areas on and off the ball. 

“I think our work rate, our attention to detail, movement on and off the ball to help us keep the ball… were the things we wanted to focus on and we still need to focus on those things,” head coach Eric Bell said.

Keeping the ball was not a problem for TCU to start the game, and several buildups out of the back led to close opportunities for the Frogs.

Jayhawks goalkeeper Emilie Gavillet was under heavy fire throughout the half.

On the other side, TCU sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Kellett had a picturesque save in the 26th minute and several more stops to keep the game scoreless at the half. The teams would tie with seven shots on goal each in the contest.

The Frogs started the second half on fire. In the 48th minute, freshman midfielder Camryn Lancaster slipped a pass right across the six to Bright, who effortlessly tapped it in for TCU’s first and only goal. 

TCU didn’t stop there. In the 26th minute alone the Frogs had several shot attempts that narrowly missed the back of the net. Lancaster burned past two defenders and hammered in a shot at the front post. It took everything Gavillet had (six saves on the night) to keep the Frogs at one score. 

As the second half came to a close, TCU’s backline managed to hold firm against several shot attempts from the Jayhawks. Kellett finished the game with her third shutout of the season, giving TCU the 1-0 win for the night. 

“I think that it’s hard winning college soccer games,” Bell said. “I’m pleased that we’ve figured out a way to win a game against a worthy opponent in Kansas, but we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

TCU will continue conference play this Sunday, Sept. 25 against Baylor. The match is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will be televised on ESPNU.