Frogs set for Mountain West Tournament play
11/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Nov. 1, 2005
LAS VEGAS, Nev. -
2005 MWC Tournament Bracket
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The TCU women's soccer team will be the seventh seed in the Mountain West Postseason Tournament that begins on Wednesday in Las Vegas, Nev. The Frogs will face the host institution, UNLV, in the opening round. Game time is slated for a 9:00 (CT) start time. Earlier this season, the Frogs dropped a tough 1-0 loss to the Rebels.
TCU finished the Mountain West portion of their schedule with a 1-6-0 record. Their lone win was a 2-1 defeat of the Air Force Falcons. The Frogs played more road games than any other team in the league this season as they had just two home conference matches all year. Three of their conference losses have been by just one goal, including a 1-0 loss to the tournament's top seed, Utah
News & Notes:
Against the Rebels
• The Frogs and the Rebels had never met on a soccer pitch prior to this season. Despite both being members of the WAC, the two teams were never scheduled together. This season, the Rebels came to Ft. Worth and left with a 1-0 shut out victory. Interestingly, Coach Abdalla is the former head coach of the Rebels. He led them for five years before coming to TCU. Abdalla led his Rebel squad to the tournament title a year ago.
Scouting the Rebels
• The Rebels have had a strong season this year and are hoping to use the MWC Tournament as a springboard into the NCAAs. Before a tough home stand with BYU and Utah two weeks ago, the Rebels were one of the hottest teams in the league. They had won six in a row, all of them shutout victories. The Frogs played the Rebels tough to a 1-0 loss on an early goal. They are lead offensively by Katie Karney and Tanya Roberts. Their defense has been solid all year in front of Ciera Nero. Nero has made 55 saves this year and has a 0.81 GAA. Of their 10 wins this season, eight of them have been shutout victories.
The Frogs Half of the Bracket
• The other half of the Frogs bracket will see the tournaments three-seed, BYU, face San Diego State. BYU finished the regular season with a 15-1-2 mark, but was just 4-1-2 in conference play. They tied for second in the league, but lost on a tiebreaker to UNLV. The Frogs dropped a 3-0 decision to the Cougars on their home field on Oct. 8. San Diego State is the six seed in the tournament. They finished the season with 10-8-2 mark and a 2-3-2 record in conference play. They won a 3-0 decision against the Frogs in Fort Worth on Oct. 16.
A First for the Frogs
•A 2-1 win over Air Force a week ago gave TCU its first-ever Mountain West win. TCU took the early 2-0 lead in the first half and held on, despite a second-half flurry by the Falcons. Bjarnveig Birgisdottir tallied the first goal of the season and Leslie Parkinson scored her first one, which proved to be the gamewinner.
On The Road
• For the fourth straight match the Frogs will be on the road. This season, TCU has a 2-5-0 record on the road. Moran Lavi is the team leader in points with five. She has a goal and three assists.
A Career High
• Katy Buchanan has set a new career high for herself with 83 saves on the season. That tops the previous mark set her freshman season when she made 46 saves. On the road she has surrendered 11 goals and made 38 stops for a 1.86 GAA. On the year she has a 1.47 GAA.
Lost For The Season
• The Frogs have played the last five matches without freshman defender K. D. Waters and she is not expected to return to the lineup due to an illness. She was a big part of the Frogs defense early on the season. She had two goals and one assist in 11 starts. Also missing the season are Courtney Brill and Courtney Johnson. Brill went down in the Frogs second game of the season against Texas A&M and Johnson during practice prior to the Frogs match against New Mexico.
The Frogs and Postseason Tournaments
• This will be the Frogs sixth trip into postseason play. They appeared in one Conference USA Tournament back in 2003, on Southwest Conference Tournament in 1995 and three Western Athletic Conference Tournaments (1997, 98 and 2000). They are 0-3-2 in those matches. Their two ties came in 1995 against Texas Tech and in 2003 against Tulane.
