Alvarado's Pair Leads TCU Past Rice

Friday, August 31

Houston, Texas

7:00 PM

TCU

2-1-1

Rice

1-2-1

TCU

Rice

Alvarado's Pair Leads TCU Past Rice

8/31/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

Aug. 31, 2012

Final Stats

BOX SCORE

	1	2	F
TCU	0	2	2
Rice	0	0	0

Quick Stats	TCU	Rice
Shots	9	21
Shots On Goal	4	5
Saves	5	2
Corners	7	5

Stat Leaders
Goalkeepers	Saves	Minutes	Goals Against
TCU - Arnold	5	90	0
Rice - Czyz	2	90	2

Scoring Summary
Team	Player	Assists	Time
TCU	Alvarado (1)	Koch	54:13
TCU	Alvarado (2)	Koch	68:49

HOUSTON, Texas - Monica Alvarado scored a pair of second half goals to lead the TCU Horned Frogs to a 2-0 win over Rice Friday night. Vittoria Arnold made five saves to notch her second shutout of the season.

"I was really happy with the way we responded in this game," commented head coach Eric Bell. "I think they were more plugged in with the game plan and so were we as a staff. We made it simpler for them and they executed."

Alvarado is the first Frog to find the net twice in a game since Jordan Calhoun scored two goals in a 3-1 win over UNLV on Oct. 8, 2010.

Rice took early control of the match, firing five shots towards the net in the first 14 minutes of the game. TCU narrowly escaped falling behind when Lauren LaGro's shot ricocheted off the crossbar. The battle continued in the goal box and Arnold hauled in Holly Hargreaves shot to stop the Owl momentum.

Heading into halftime, Rice held a 10-4 advantage in shots and Arnold had made a pair of saves to keep the match scoreless.

"At the half we talked about things we saw and things we thought we could exploit. I thought they went out and executed what we talked about," said Bell. "Everyone worked hard and it was a well-earned win. This was a team win. It wasn't just Monica and Makenzie. I thought Vittoria played an awesome game, as well."

Following the intermission, TCU worked hard to take control of the match. The Frogs earned a corner kick in the 53rd minute. Makenzie Koch's feed found Alvarado, but her shot was blocked, setting up yet another TCU corner kick. This time, Koch's cross connected and Alvarado headed in her first goal of the season and a 1-0 TCU lead.

Rice fought hard trying to find the equalizer, but Arnold was there to make back-to-back saves on Hargreaves and Lauren Hughes in the 58th minute.

TCU fed off the Arnold saves and pushed the ball downfield, eventually earning another corner kick in the 69th minute. Koch's prowess from the corner proved beneficial once again as she connected with Alvarado's head for a 2-0 TCU lead.

The Frogs held off the Owls for the final 20 minutes to record their second win of the season.

TCU improves to 2-1-1 on the season. The Frogs return home for a Sunday afternoon contest against Nevada. Match time at Garvey-Rosenthal is set for 1 p.m.