Women’s Soccer: Frogs advance to Elite Eight with thrilling win over UNC

TCU Women’s Soccer advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament with a thrilling win over North Carolina in Fort Worth in penalty kicks this past Monday. The Frogs battled to tie the game late in the second half and showed off their clutch gene in penalty kicks to take down the defending National Champions and advance to the fourth round of the NCAA Tournament. Like they have done all season, TCU played well in a high pressure, close game and found a way to win and advance to the next round.

The first half was defensively dominated by both teams and neither team even attempted a shot until the 36th minute. Physicality was clearly a big part of the game plan for both sides as UNC was whistled for three fouls in the first ten minutes and TCU was whistled for two fouls in the next ten minutes. Katana Norman was called for a yellow card in the 32nd minute before UNC was called for a yellow card just one minute later. North Carolina recorded the first shot attempt of the game in the 36th minute which missed wide right before attempting another shot in the 40th minute that missed the net high. Neither team was able to create much offense as both defenses played smart and physical the whole first half. The Frogs did not record a shot attempt in the first 45 minutes but entered halftime tied thanks to a great defensive effort against a solid North Carolina offense.

North Carolina finally generated some offense coming out of halftime with a shot that missed high in the 46th minute and a shot on goal that was saved by Olivia Geller for TCU in the 47th minute. AJ Hennessey tallied the first shot attempt of the game for the Frogs in the 49th minute before the Tarheels created another good chance with a shot on goal in the 53rd minute which was again saved by Geller. The teams traded fouls before North Carolina again tested Geller with a shot on goal in the 60th minute which was saved. The Tar Heels kept up the offensive pressure on TCU with yet another shot on goal in the 62nd minute that Geller again turned away. North Carolina had a flurry of chances in the 73rd and 74th minutes with a shot that hit off the right post and a shot on goal that was saved by Geller. Kaela Martinez was whistled for a yellow card in the 75th minute before North Carolina recorded yet another shot on goal that Geller again saved in the 77th minute. The TCU offense finally earned a corner kick in the 78th minute but did not attempt a shot as UNC played sound defensively. Then in the 82nd minute, North Carolina finally broke through and found the back of the net to take a 1-0 lead that felt like a dagger with how well the Tarheel defense had been playing. The Frogs had not recorded a shot on goal up to this point in the game and had struggled to hold possession on North Carolina’s side of the field. In the final minute of regulation, however, TCU was awarded a corner kick and Sydney Becerra found true freshman Kamdyn Fuller in the box who buried a header to tie the game in heart stopping fashion with just four seconds left on the clock. Fuller scored on a very sharp angle on the first shot on goal of the game for the Frogs to send the game into overtime and Garvey-Rosenthal Stadium into pandemonium.

North Carolina looked for a response in the first overtime period with a shot that missed the net in the 92nd minute and a shot on goal in the 95th minute that was turned away by Geller. An offsides against TCU gave possession back to the Tarheels and Geller was called upon to make another save on a UNC shot on goal in the 99th minute. The Frogs had the first chance of the second overtime period with a shot on goal by Emma Yolinski that was saved in the 101st minute. UNC created a few looks but could not record a shot on net as the game remained 1-1 and advanced to penalty kicks. Clutch saves by Geller in the first and fourth penalty rounds set up AJ Hennessey for a chance to send the Frogs to the next round and the senior forward came through with a goal to knock out UNC.

The Frogs have consistently performed well in close games all season and that experience paid off in a big way against North Carolina as a true freshman found the back of the net to tie the game with just seconds remaining. Olivia Geller was excellent in goal for TCU, holding off the North Carolina attack to give the Frogs a chance to tie the game and outdueling her UNC counterpart in penalty kicks to give TCU the win in one of the most improbable comebacks in school history. TCU will next take on the number one seeded Vanderbilt Commodores in Nashville this Saturday, November 29th at 6:30 pm with a chance to advance to the Final Four.