Soccer Ready For Roadrunners Friday Night
9/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 23, 2010
WEEKLY NOTES | UTSA GAME: LIVE STATS
FORT WORTH, Texas - TCU will continue its three-match road swing Friday night at UTSA. Start time for the contest against the Roadrunners is set for 7 p.m. at the UTSA Recreational Sports Complex.Following its Friday night contest, TCU will return home to take on Texas State at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium.
Follow The Horned Frogs
Fans not able to attend either game this weekend can follow them 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.
All regular season home matches that are not being televised nationally are broadcast live via webstreaming on gofrogs.com.
Scouting UTSA
The Roadrunners come into Friday night's contest having dropped a 3-1 match to Houston this past Sunday. With the loss, UTSA moved to 5-4-0 on the season and suffered its first home loss this fall at the UTSA Recreational Sports Complex.
Overall, the Roadrunners, who will be playing their third-straight home game on Friday night, have won two out of their last four matches. Both victories during that stretch have come at home.
Last Friday night, UTSA, who is off to its best start in program history, dominated Texas Southern, 7-0. In all, the Roadrunners have blanked three different opponents this fall, netting a total of 30 goals on the season. Three different players have found the back of the net four times, including Maria Jose Rojas, who has scored four goals, while also dishing out five assists.
Scouting Texas State
Texas State comes into Sunday's game with a 5-4-0 overall record. The Bobcats, who have won three-straight matches, are coming off a 3-1 decision over Houston Baptist last Sunday. In the match, senior Britney Curry scored a goal in the 17th minute off an assist by Kelsie Townsend to give TXST an early 1-0 lead. Overall, junior Kelsey Bernard and freshman Felicia Leask netted the other two goals last Sunday for Texas State.
Curry was named the Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week this week. It's Curry's second honor in as many weeks. She is currently on a four-game scoring streak and leads the Bobcat offensive attack with eight goals and two assists on the season.
Texas State is coached by Kat Conner, who is in her 12th season and has won two-straight Southland Conference Coach of the Year honors. Conner has led the Bobcats to four Southland Conference titles, four conference tournament championships and four NCAA tournament appearances. She has also coached three Southland Player of the Year award winners, one All-America honoree and 48 all-conference selections.
Scouting TCU
TCU, who is 4-4-1 entering Friday's contest at UTSA, is coming off a 1-0 setback to Ole Miss last Sunday afternoon. Last Friday, freshmen Kelly Johnson and Kristen Barg both netted goals in the second half as TCU routed No. 17 Memphis, 3-0.
With the win, the Horned Frogs, who posted their first victory over a ranked opponent since downing No. 15 Texas to open the 2009 season, have now won three-straight over Memphis. The Tigers haven't defeated TCU since 2002 and suffered their largest margin of defeat this fall.
TCU, who is 2-2-1 at Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium this fall, has been led offensively by Jordan Calhoun and Kaylie Garcia, who have both connected on three goals apiece, respectively.
Earlier this week, senior goalkeeper Kelsey Walters was honored as the Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Week. Against No. 17 Memphis, Walters was dominant on defense, limiting the Lady Tigers to only six shots-on-goal on 17 shot attempts.
Series Breakdown
On Friday night, TCU and UTSA will battle for the fifth time in program history. The Frogs lead the all-time series, 4-0-0. Overall, TCU has won four-straight against UTSA, including a 1-0 decision over the Roadrunners last fall in Fort Worth. In their only meeting in San Antonio, the Purple and White upended UTSA, 2-1, in 2008.
Sunday's match against Texas State will mark the third time in TCU history that the Bobcats and Horned Frogs will face each other on the pitch. The series is currently tied at 1-1-0, but the Frogs haven't faced TXST since the 2001 season. TCU fell in the 2001 match, 4-2.
Beating Ranked Opponents Becoming A Norm
When TCU upended previously No. 17 ranked Memphis last Friday night, 3-0, it continued an impressive trend under head coach Dan Abdalla. In three out of the past four seasons, the Horned Frogs have downed a nationally ranked opponent. With the win on Friday night, the Frogs posted their first victory over a ranked opponent since downing No. 15 Texas to open the 2009 season. In 2007, TCU closed its home season, upending then No. 22 Utah, 3-0, at Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium.
Scoring At An Impressive Mark
Nine games into the 2010 season, TCU has tallied a total of 22 goals, which surpasses the Frogs' 2009 total of 15 goals after nine games. Upon further look, the Purple and White have now posted the second-best goal scoring mark after nine matches under head coach Dan Abdalla. Overall, the Horned Frogs found the back of the net 28 times during their record-setting season in 2008. Not only is the 22 goals after nine games the second-best total under Abdalla, but it is also the third-best mark since scoring 26 goals to begin the 1997 season.
Shooting Galore Usually Delivers Victory
Heading into this weekend, TCU is 3-1-0 when outshooting its opponent this fall. The Horned Frogs lone loss when outshooting their opponent came last Sunday against Ole Miss. Against nationally ranked Memphis, the Frogs were outshot by three shots, but still managed to record a 3-0 victory. Overall, TCU, who has outshot its opponent in four of its nine matches this season, has posted a combined shot mark of 122-33 during those four contests. In the five other matches, the Purple and White have been outshot by a combined total of 93-66.
Upon further look, the Horned Frogs have used a strong second half performance to up their shot total by more then 15 shot attempts in the second half of games this season. Overall, TCU has outshot its opponent in nine matches by more then 62 shots.
Walters Honored By Mountain West Conference
Kelsey Walters was honored on Monday as the Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Week.
Against No. 17 Memphis, Walters kept the nationally ranked Tigers off the scoreboard, helping TCU claim a 3-0 victory at Memphis. Overall, Walters posted her first shutout of the season and 11th all-time against Memphis, which moved her into the No. 3 spot all-time in career shutout's. The senior from Oklahoma City saved six shots last Friday night.
Walters came back this past Sunday to hold Ole Miss off the scoreboard for the entire second half. Overall, despite the 1-0 loss, Walter saved five balls on 15 shot attempts. She limited the Rebels to only six shots-on-goal and gave up only one goal the entire weekend away from Fort Worth.
Horned Frogs In NCAA Statistics
Nine games into the 2010 season, TCU has fared well amongst the national leaders. As a team, TCU currently ranks No. 27 overall in scoring offense, while senior Chelsea Cody sits just inside the top 40 in assists-per-game, ranking No. 35 in the nation.
Mountain West Statistics Update
Heading into Friday's contest, TCU currently ranks No. 1 in the conference in shots (188), points (59), goals (22), goals-per-game (2.44) and assists-per-game (1.67). The Frogs sit No. 2 in the MWC in assists (15) and average attendance (1,133).
Individually, junior Jordan Calhoun currently sits No. 3 in shots for the season with 35 and shots-per-game (3.89). Senior Chelsea Cody is also among the MWC leaders, ranking first in assists (4) and assists-per-game (0.57).
Up Next
TCU will open conference play next week at San Diego State. Start time for next Friday night's away match is set for 6 p.m. CT.
