TCU Opens Season At Home Against SMU
8/27/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Aug. 27, 2004
FORT WORTH, Texas -
The TCU Horned Frogs will open their season at home for the first time since 1999 when the SMU Mustangs come to Garvey-Rosenthal Stadium. This will be the fourth time in the program's history that they will meet SMU to open the season. The Frogs are 0-3 in the previous three season-openers against the Mustangs. Game time is slated for 5 p.m.
The Frogs are coming off a 4-0 preseason loss to the No. 4 team in the nation, Texas A&M. The Frogs played well for most of the game, but faltered on corner kicks as they allowed three of the four goals to come off of corner kicks. TCU's offense was stymied by the Aggie defense so the Frogs hope to bust loose against SMU.
News & Notes:
Against the Mustangs
• This will be the 24th meeting between SMU and TCU. In the previous 23 meetings, SMU holds a 21-0-2 record. The Frogs are searching for their first-ever win over the Mustangs. SMU is 11-0-2 against the Frogs in Ft. Worth. The last time the Mustangs visited Garvey-Rosenthal, they came away with a 1-1 tie. TCU dropped a 4-2 decision against SMU last season in Dallas.
Scouting the Mustangs
• The Mustangs were one of the hottest teams in the nation last season, putting together a 10-game winning streak en route to a 17-3-2 campaign. SMU didn't make it out of the first round of the NCAAs as they lost 4-1 in penalty kicks to No. 23 Texas A&M. They return their top goalkeeper from a year ago in Amanda Clark as well as two of their top three scorers, Jill Heinemann (21 points) and Olivia O'Rear (20 points.).
Friendly Competition
• This season the Horned Frogs have four quality goalkeepers on their roster. Katy Buchanan, last seasons starter, returns as the likely starter, but three others are pushing for time. Jennifer Sims returns as well and could see some time. Newcomers Ashley Pierret and Lindsay White have had great fall practices and could also see time.
Preseason All-Conference
• Jessi Moore has earned the respect of coaches around Conference USA. She is the only Horned Frog representative on the 2004 Preseason All-Conference squad. There are 11 players named to the all-conference team as voted upon by the league's coaches. Moore scored six goals last year and tallied three assists for a total of 15 points in her first season at TCU.
Picked To Finish Sixth
• In other preseason rankings done by league coaches, the Horned Frogs were picked to finish sixth in the league this season. This is the highest preseason ranking for the Frogs since joining Conference USA. Last year the Frogs finished in a two-way tie for second place with Marquette after being picked to finish 12th in the preseason. TCU qualified for their first-ever C-USA postseason tournament.
Preseason Action
• The Frogs only played one preseason game this year and it came against No. 4 Texas A&M. The Frogs lost the contest 4-0, but put forth a strong effort as they limited the Aggies to just 11 shots on goal. Buchanan and Pierret each made two stops, while White recorded three. Amy Van Zandt recorded the lone shot on goal for TCU.
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