TCU Travels To Wyoming For Key Conference Matchup
10/21/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 21, 2010
FORT WORTH, Texas - TCU will take to the road this weekend for two pivotal conference matchup's against Wyoming and Air Force, respectively.Start time for the Horned Frogs game against the Cowgirls is set for 4 p.m. CT at the Louis S. Madrid Sports Complex in Laramie, Wyo. On Sunday, the Falcons and TCU will battle at Noon CT from the Air Force Soccer Stadium.
Scouting Wyoming
Wyoming comes into Friday night looking for its first conference win of the season. The Cowgirls, who are 6-9-1 overall and 0-3-1 in Mountain West Conference play, are coming off a 2-0 setback to San Diego State last Saturday.
In the match, Wyoming held a 13-11 shot advantage, including a 6-5 shots-on-goal advantage, but couldn't find the back of the net. Liz Oreilly led the Cowgirl offensive attack with a match-high six shots. In total, eight different players recorded shot attempts for the Cowgirls at San Diego State.
Overall, Wyoming, who is 3-4-0 at home this fall, battled Utah to a 1-1 draw earlier this season. During conference play, the Pokes have netted a goal in every match accept for the SDSU contest last Saturday night. Nahiomy Ortiz has led the Wyoming offense this fall with three goals, while also dishing out four assists.
Scouting Air Force
The Falcons, who come into their final two home matches with a 7-8-1 record and 0-4-0 mark in the Mountain West Conference, will take on New Mexico on Friday before battling the Purple and White at Air Force Soccer Stadium Sunday. Despite its conference record, Air Force has played MWC foes close this fall, falling by only one goal in three of its four conference matches.
The Falcons are coming off a 3-0 loss to UNLV last Saturday. In the match, the Rebels used two first half goals and held off a late Air Force rally to record the victory. Junior defender Kristen Shanklin posted two shots for the contest, while freshman goalkeeper Kelly Stambaugh collected five saves on the night.
Air Force, who is 4-3-1 at Air Force Soccer Stadium in 2010, has been led on offense by Stephanie Patterson, who has posted five goals and four assists. Megan Dozier has also had a stellar freshman campaign this season, netting four goals.
Scouting TCU
TCU, who is 7-8-1 overall and 1-3-0 in the MWC entering Friday's contest, is coming off a 3-2 overtime setback to Utah last Saturday. Junior Jordan Calhoun led the Horned Frog offensive attack against the Utes with five shot attempts, including two shots-on-goal. In total, 11 different players recorded shot attempts at Jane Justin Field. Senior Nikki Wilbur found the back of the net early in the contest, but it wasn't enough as Utah sent the game into overtime with 18 seconds left in the second half and eventually won the game.
The Horned Frogs, who have won two out of their last four games, are 3-3-0 away from Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium this fall. Overall, the Frogs will be playing their first road game since falling in double overtime at San Diego State, 1-0, on Oct. 1.
TCU is led on offense by Calhoun, who has netted six goals, while also recording three assists. The Purple and White will close their regular season next Saturday night at home against nationally ranked and league leader New Mexico, who upset previous No. 8 BYU last Saturday night.
Series Breakdown
When TCU faces off against Wyoming Friday night it will mark the ninth meeting between the two conference foes. The Cowgirls lead the all-time series, 5-2-1, including a 4-2-0 mark at the Louis S. Madrid Sports Complex. Overall, TCU hasn't defeated Wyoming since winning 2-0 in 1997.
On Sunday, Air Force and the Horned Frogs will battle for the ninth time in program history. TCU has posted an impressive 6-1-1 record against the Falcons and haven't lost to Air Force since dropping a 2-0 contest in 1996. Last fall, former Frog Michelle Nguyen netted a penalty kick goal in overtime to lead TCU to a 1-0 victory at Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium.
Follow The Horned Frogs
Fans not able to attend the Air Force game this weekend can follow it live by logging onto www.gofrogs.com. There you will find a link to gametracker, which is located on the women's soccer schedule page.
On Friday, fans wishing to view live highlights of the game may follow a live Twitter feed, which will be made available on the women's soccer page at http://www.twitter.com/WYOSOCCER.
All regular season home matches that are not being televised nationally are broadcast live via webstreaming on gofrogs.com.
The Final Run
If recent trends hold true, the Horned Frogs could be very explosive as the regular season wraps up competition the next two weeks. With only three games remaining in the 2010 regular season, TCU will look to continue its winning ways under head coach Dan Abdalla during its final push towards postseason play. Since 2008, the Frogs are 3-2-1 in their last three games of the regular season. During that time, the Purple and White have played in two overtimes games, including a double overtime game against UNLV in 2008. Upon further look, the Frogs have posted a 5-5-2 mark in their last three games dating back to 2006, playing in five overtimes.
Offensive Numbers Impressive Late In The Year
With only three games remaining in the 2010 season, TCU has posted some impressive numbers on the offensive end this fall. Upon further look, the Frogs have recorded 317 shots, which currently ranks No. 1 in the Mountain West Conference. During conference play, the Purple and White have blasted 63 shot attempts. Overall, the Frogs have almost surpassed their entire shot total from a year ago. In 2009, TCU recorded 319 shot attempts in 19 games. The Frogs have already passed their entire goal total from year ago, scoring 36 goals compared to 32 in 2009. With 28 assists heading into this weekend, TCU needs only four more assists to post the second-highest assist mark in program history for a season.
What To Watch For This Weekend
When TCU takes on Wyoming and Air Force this weekend, the Frogs will look to better their chances of qualifying for the Mountain West Conference Championship, which will take place in San Diego, Calif. TCU, who has three points in the conference standings heading into this weekend, sits ahead of both Wyoming and Air Force in the conference and could automatically punch their ticket to the conference tournament with victories over both schools. The Mountain West Conference Championship will begin on Nov. 3 at the SDSU Sports Deck.
A Final Look Ahead
Following action this weekend, TCU will return home to face nationally ranked New Mexico next Saturday night. The match against the Lobos will mark the final home game for Chelsea Cody, Cheryl Martin, Jackie Torda, Kelsey Walters and Nikki Wilbur. The five seniors have combined to win 38 games and have played in three-straight conference tournaments. The contest against New Mexico will also mark the second time this season the Horned Frogs will play in front of a television audience. The final home game will be shown on tape-delay on The Mtn.
Horned Frogs In NCAA Statistics
With only three games left in the 2010 season, TCU has fared well amongst the national leaders in scoring offense. As a team, TCU currently ranks No. 33 overall in scoring offense.
Mountain West Statistics Update
Heading into Friday's contest, TCU currently ranks No. 1 in the conference in shots (317), points (100), goals (36), goals-per-game (2.25) and assists (28). The Frogs sit No. 2 in the MWC in assists-per-game (1.75).
Individually, Jordan Calhoun currently sits No. 2 in shots for the season with 64. The junior also ranks No. 3 in shots-per-game (4.00). Junior Alex Mechalske is also among the MWC leaders, ranking fourth in assists (5), while senior Chelsea Cody ranks No. 4 in assists-per-game with a 0.36 average. Senior Kelsey Walters ranks No. 5 in save percentage (.778), saves-per-game (4.31) and goals-against-average (1.34).
Up Next
The Horned Frogs will close their regular season at home against New Mexico next Saturday night. Start time is set for 7 p.m. at Jane Justin Field.
