No. 6 TCU (3-1-1) fell to USC (2-1) 3-0 Thursday night in Los Angeles during its second road match of the season. The Trojans handed the Horned Frogs their first loss of the season.

USC took an early lead on TCU within the first three minutes of the match. Despite their early 1-0 deficit, the Frogs hung onto possession of the ball for the majority of the first half.

Graduate forward Messiah Bright was a major offensive force throughout the match, leading the team with seven shots. Bright had two perfect opportunities in the first to hit the net, but all attempts were squandered by USC’s graduate goalkeeper Anna Smith.

USC senior midfielder Croix Bethune scored off a penalty kick that landed in the upper left corner of the net to secure a 2-0 lead for the Trojans heading into the second half.

TCU pushed hard offensively in the second half, notching 10 shots in an attempt to shrink the Trojan’s lead. Bethune closed out the match with her second goal of the day in the 79^th minute, resulting in a 3-0 shutout for the Trojans.

TCU head coach Eric Bell announced his thoughts on the match.

“First off, congratulations to USC,” said Bell. “I thought that there were points where we tried to win the game through our possession.”

“Our possession from the back third to the middle third was pretty good, but we have to figure out a way for the final third to finish some of these chances that we’re getting,” added Bell. “I thought we were also pretty dangerous on set pieces… but we have to be better and we have a lot of work to do before Sunday.”

Looking ahead

The Frogs will host a top 10 matchup this Sunday at 7 p.m. against No. 2 Duke at Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium.

The Blue Devils (4-1) are coming off a tough loss on Thursday to No. 3 UCLA, who ended their undefeated record.

The last time the TCU met up with Duke was in 2000 in Durham, North Carolina. The outcome resulted in a Horned Frog 6-0 loss to the Blue Devils.