No. 29 Horned Frogs Ready For MWC Tournament
11/3/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Nov. 3, 2008
FORT WORTH, Texas - The TCU women's soccer program will begin post-season action on Wednesday when the No. 3 seeded Horned Frogs take on No. 6 San Diego State in opening-round competition at the 2008 Mountain West Conference Tournament.
Scouting TCU
Heading into the tournament, TCU is on a two-match winning streak, including wins over Texas Tech and opening-round opponent, San Diego State. Overall, the Horned Frogs ended the regular-season with a 13-3-2 record, which is the best overall record in program history. The match against the Aztecs on Wednesday will mark the Purple and White's eighth contest away from Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium this season. TCU, who has only dropped one contest away from Fort Worth this fall, a 1-0 setback to Wyoming on Oct. 10, will look to better its road record to 7-1-0 in the opening-round of the conference tournament.
Individually, Jordan Calhoun has continued to shine, netting 14 goals and two assists. The freshman currently needs only one more goal to break the all-time single-season goal scoring mark at TCU. Junior Lizzy Karoly has also excelled this fall, scoring 10 goals, while also assisting on six others. In the net, sophomore Kelsey Walters has been dominate at times this season, keeping opponents off the scoreboard five times, while posting 74 saves, and a 0.77 Goals Against Average.
TCU has seen plenty of action in the polls as of late as the Horned Frogs are currently ranked No. 29 in Top Drawer Soccer's National Rankings, while also receiving votes in both Soccer Buzz Magazines and the NSCAA National Rankings. Regionally, TCU comes into Wednesday's contest ranked No. 7 in the Central Region by Soccer Buzz and No 8 by the NSCAA.
Scouting San Diego State
Fresh off a 2-1 deficit to TCU, SDSU earned the No. 6 seed in the tournament by compiling a 2-4-1 record in conference action. San Diego State, who moved to 6-9-3 overall last weekend, is led offensively by Cat Walker. Walker has compiled an impressive stat line this fall as she has amassed for nine of SDSU's 31 goals, while also dishing out three assists. Junior Heather Vandevanter could also play a major role in the Aztec's success this week as she netted SDSU's lone goal against TCU to bring her yearly total to four goals and four assists.
Senior goalkeeper Christi Yount has played between the posts in San Diego State's final five games of the 2008 campaign and has compiled a 2-2-2 record on the year, while allowing eight goals against.
Overall, San Diego State has posted 31 goals on 232 shot attempts, but done most of its damage in the second half of games, netting 18 goals during the second frame of action.
All-Time Series
The Horned Frogs and Aztecs have faced each other six times entering this Wednesday's contest. SDSU leads the all-time series 4-2-0. The Purple and White upended SDSU, 2-1, last weekend to end regular-season action in 2008.
Follow The Horned Frogs
Fans not able to attend this Wednesday's opening-round match against San Diego State can follow the game live by logging onto www.gofrogs.com. There you can find links to gametracker under the schedule tab.
All MWC Tournament action will be able to be followed live on GoFrogs.com throughout the tournament in Las Vegas.
The semifinal games will be televised live at 1 and 4 p.m. (MT) on The Mtn. Saturday's MWC Championship match will also be aired via tape-delay on The Mtn. at 11:30 p.m. (MT), and nationally on The Mtn. on Sunday, Nov. 9 at 11 a.m. (MT).
Mountain West Conference Tournament History
The Horned Frogs come into this week's tournament looking to advance beyond the first-round of play for the first-time in program history.
Overall, TCU is 0-2-0 in conference tournament action, falling victim to UNLV in 2005 and BYU last fall.
The Horned Frogs' No. 3 seed is the highest-seeding in program history and first time under head coach Dan Abdalla that TCU has been ranked higher then No. 6 in the tournament.
Championship Could Provide History
If TCU is able to go through the conference tournament undefeated then the Horned Frogs would not only earn their first-trip to the NCAA Tournament, but also the program's first conference championship.
The Frogs will begin their quest for a conference championship on Wednesday, Nov. 5, at Noon against San Diego State. The winner of Wednesday's contest will face No. 2 seed Utah on Thursday at Noon. TCU previously defeated Utah, 2-0, on Oct. 18.
Academic Honors For TCU
Four TCU soccer players were named to the CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District Women's Soccer Team last Thursday, including Lizzy Karoly, who earned first-team honors.
Karoly, Kelsey Walters, Jackie Torda and Cheryl Martin comprised four of the 28 players on the District VI Academic All-District Teams.
Karoly, a junior forward from Escondido, Calif., earned first-team honors after netting 10 goals and assisting on six others. The broadcast journalism's selection to the All-District VI Team places her on the national ballot to earn Academic All-America honors.
Walters, who was the lone goalkeeper on the second-team, has helped TCU secure a 13-3-2 record heading into this week's match against SDSU. Overall, the sophomore nutrition major, has posted five shutout's during the 2008 campaign.
Torda and Martin round out the TCU selections, earning third-team honors. Torda, a Colleyville native and business major, has found the back of the net four times this fall, while dishing out four assists. Martin, a nutrtion major, has played a key roll on the TCU defensive front in 2008, while scoring two goals and one assist on the year.
Rewriting The Record Books
As a team, TCU currently sits at No. 1 in single-season records in assists with 41 on the year. The Frogs entering Wednesday's match are currently at No. 2 all-time in shutouts during a single-season, while also posting the single-best goal total in a single-season. The Horned Frogs have also posted the single-best point total in a single-season.
Individually, Jordan Calhoun needs only one more goals to become the all-time leader in goals scored in a single season, while senior midfielder Caroline Starns currently sits at No. 2 in assists for a single season with seven on the year. Calhoun also only needs five more points to surpass Sarah Campbell as the all-time leader in point posted in a single season, while Lizzy Karoly currently sits at No. 3 in goals scored for a career. On defense, sophomore Kelsey Walters needs only three more shutouts to move into a tie for first all-time in shutouts for an individual season.
Up Next
If unable to win the conference tournament, TCU still has a chance to qualify for the 2008 NCAA Tournament as an at-large selection. All NCAA selections will be announced next week following the conclusion of conference tournaments on Sunday. Opening-round action will take place on Nov. 14 on respective campuses.
