Horned Frogs ready for MWC Tournament
11/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Nov. 6, 2007
FORT WORTH, Texas - The No. 6 seeded TCU soccer program will open play at the Mountain West Conference Soccer Championships with a match on Wednesday against No. 3 seeded BYU. Start time for the contest against the Cougars is set for 4 p.m. (MT) at BYU's South Stadium.
TCU (8-10-0) will look to bring home its first conference championship in women's soccer.
The winner of the BYU vs. TCU match will play San Diego State on Thursday at 4 p.m. (MT).
Scouting the MWC Tournament
UNLV (10-4-5) and San Diego State (9-7-3) are the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds and will each receive a first-round bye. The tournament will open with No. 4 seed Wyoming (9-9-0) and No. 5 seed Utah (11-4-4) facing off against each other on Wednesday to open the tournament at 1 p.m. (MT).
The winner of the BYU vs. TCU match will play San Diego State on Thursday at 4 p.m., while UNLV will get either Utah or Wyoming at 1 p.m. on Thursday. The Championship match will then be held on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Scouting TCU (8-10-0)
TCU (8-10-0) comes into this Wednesday's match having dropped its final regular season match to San Diego State, 1-0, in overtime last Friday. The Horned Frogs, who finished the season at 8-10-0, closed out the regular season in sixth-place in the Mountain West Conference.
On offense, Jackie Torda leads the Horned Frog attack, connecting on nine goals, while also tallying three assists. Sophomore Michelle Nguyen has had a solid sophomore campaign, netting five goals and six assists, while Lizzy Karoly has also posted five goals.
Scouting BYU (14-3-2)
BYU (14-3-2) comes into Wednesday's match having dropped its final regular season match to UNLV, 1-0, last Friday. The Cougars are 8-1-1 at home this fall and bring an 14-3-2 record into this Wednesday's match.
Overall, San Diego State, who finished at 4-3-1 in the MWC, upended TCU 4-1 on Oct. 11.
BYU is led on offense by Katie Larkin, who has netted 12 goals on the year, including 10 game-winners. Larkin has also posted five assists. On defense, Erika Woodbury has had a solid year in goal, allowing only eight goals, while posting 57 saves.
The Series
Wednesday's match against BYU will mark the sixth meeting between the two conference schools. The Cougars have never lost to TCU and lead the series 5-0-0.
Earlier this season, TCU dropped a 4-1 match to BYU in Provo. Michelle Nguyen scored the Horned Frogs lone goal on the night as BYU netted four goals in the first half of the contest.
Overall for the match, Kelsey Walters, who posted a shutout in the second half, stopped nine balls.
Follow The Horned Frogs
Fans not able to attend this weeks conference tournament can follow the action by logging onto www.gofrogs.com.
The MWC Women's Soccer Championship semifinal games will be televised live at 1 and 4 p.m. (MT) on The Mtn. Saturday's championship game will also be aired via tape-delay on The Mtn. at 5 p.m. (MT), and nationally on CSTV on Sunday, Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. (MT). The match will also be streamed live on CSTV and the Mountain West web sites.
MWC Ticket Information
Ticket prices for each session are $5 for students and $7 for adults. A single pass to all five games is $12 for seniors and students, and $15 for adults. Tickets will be available at the gate, while children five years of age and under get in free.
MWC Tournament History
No. 7 seed TCU faced off against No. 2 UNLV in 2005 and fell 3-0 to the Rebels in Las Vegas, Nev.
In that match, the Rebels netted two goals in a span of less than two minutes to put the game away in the second half.
Overall, Lauren Pope, Angie Nickens, Caroline Starns and Sara Schneider all played in 2005.
"I am obviously disappointed that we lost," said TCU head coach Dan Abdalla. "Our kids left everything they had out on the field. They played as hard as they could and we just got beat."
TCU In The Mountain West
So far during Mountain West play, freshman forward Jackie Torda is seventh in the MWC standings for shots (18) and eighth in shots per game (2.57). Michelle Nguyen and Lizzy Karoly currently rank fifth in goals during conference action with three.
As a team, TCU ranks third in the MWC in goals (8), fourth in shots (99) and fifth in assists (6). On defense, TCU is currently first in saves (44).
Cracking The Record Books
Entering Wednesday's contest against BYU, TCU freshman Jackie Torda only needs one more goal to tie for fifth all-time on the single season goal total with 10 and sixth on the single season points total with 23. With her two assist effort against Utah, Michelle Nguyen is now tied for third all-time in single season assists with six on the year.
