Hill’s Late Tally Sends TCU To Win

Friday, August 17

Fort Worth, Texas

7:00 p.m. CT

TCU

1-0

Alabama

0-1

Alabama

TCU

Photo by: Sharon Ellman

Hill’s Late Tally Sends TCU To Win

8/17/2018 10:39:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

Lund makes two saves to tally the shutout

FORT WORTH – Kayla Hill's goal in the 88^thminute helped TCU to a 1-0 victory over Alabama in the season-opener. In front of 1,755 fans, the Horned Frogs dominated in outshooting the Crimson Tide by an 18-5 margin. Katie Lund made two first half saves to tally her 12^thcareer shutout.

The Rundown
TCU and Alabama played a pretty even first half as the Frogs held a 6-4 shot advantage. It was TCU that had the best looks, forcing Crimson Tide goalkeeper Alex Plavin to make four saves in the half.

The Frogs best look at getting on the board came in 14^thminute when Plavin found herself caught out of goal. She battled back to thwart shots from McKenzie Oliver and Payton Crews to keep the game scoreless.

A red card on Plavin in the 54^thminute proved to be the turning point in the match. The Frogs took advantage of Alabama playing a player down. They peppered the Alabama defense with 12 shots in the second half.

TCU finally hit pay dirt in the 88^thminute. Tijana Djuricek's initial corner kick feed was knocked away by the goalkeeper, but Djuricek recovered and sent a perfect feed right to the head of Kayla Hill. Her header was on point to put the Frogs on top.

Stat of the Game
4 – Kayla Hill's game-winning goal was the fourth of her career. She has eight career goals.

Quotes of the Game
Head Coach Eric Bell
On the game:
"Alabama is a good team. The red card really helped us out. We were on the ball a lot more and Alabama had to chase a lot more than it wanted to. "

On the atmosphere:
"The crowd was fantastic. If they keep showing up like they did tonight, this is going to be a really tough place to play."

Notes
• TCU improved 14-18-1 all-time in season-openers, including a mark of 3-3-1 under the guidance of head coach Eric Bell.
• TCU is now 19-14 all-time in home openers and has won four straight.
• TCU has won three straight season-openers.
• Katie Lund registered her first shutout of the season and the 12^thof her career.
• Lund moved into third all-time on the career shutouts list.
• Kayla Hill scored her first goal of the season and the eighth of her career.
• Tijana Djuricek tallied her first assist of the season and the fourth of her career.
• Messiah Bright, Payton Crews and Chaylyn Hubbard made their collegiate debuts and their first career start.
• Brandi Peterson and Maddy Warren made their collegiate debuts.
• Cachet Lue, Tijana Djuricek and Karitas Tomasdottir played the entirety of the match.

Up Next
TCU continues its season-opening five match homestand on Sunday afternoon when it hosts McNeese State. Game time against the Cowgirls is set for 1 p.m. on FSSW+.