TCU W-Soccer Ties Texas Tech
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FORT WORTH – Playing in her final two home matches of the season, Monica Alvarado is making lasting memories as she scored the game-tying goal against Texas Tech with just over a minute to go in regulation. TCU and Texas Tech battled through two overtimes and the match ended 1-1.
Playing in front of the 2,267 raucous fans, the fifth largest crowd in stadium history, the Horned Frogs held strong against a furious Red Raider attack. Vittoria Arnold made a career-high 12 saves, including seven in the first half of the match.
“First of all, I am happy with the turnout from the people in the community,” said head coach Eric Bell. “It was a fantastic atmosphere. We weren’t happy with our performance in the first half of the game. I thought we came out with a little bit more intensity and fight in the second half and fought until the end. We gave ourselves a chance and scored a goal late in the second half to get into overtime. I am pretty proud of our group for battling back against a pretty good team.”
In the waning moments of the second half, Texas Tech was whistled for its second offside of the match. The Horned Frogs made the free kick count as they used the opportunity to score the game-tying goal. Serena Smith-Banas took the free kick from midfield and sent a long feed into the goal box. Her aim was true and right to a waiting Alvarado, who headed the ball into the goal with 1:09 left in regulation.
“We didn’t do anything different, we just challenged our group to play harder and they did, giving themselves a chance to be successful,” said Bell.
The overtimes were eventful as both teams tried to score the golden goal. In the first OT frame, TCU had the early chances as Brittany Slyman fired off two shots at the net. Texas Tech turned the pressure upfield and got off two quality shots, but each time Arnold was there. She made a diving stop on a point blank shot off the foot of Jessica Fuston.
Texas Tech had the only shot on goal in the second half, but once again, Arnold was there to corral the long shot from Tiffini Smith with just under a minute to go in the match.
“We talk to Vittoria about being consistent and making the routine stops and coming up with big stops when we need them and she did that tonight.”
In the first half, the Red Raiders hit the ground running as they reeled off 15 shots, eight of which were on target. They finally hit paydirt in the 37th minute as they opened up a 1-0 lead. Texas Tech earned back-to-back corners and made the second one count. Erin Inman took the second corner and made a perfect feed right to the head of Sarah Ellison who was there to knock it in for her second goal of the season.
The Frogs move to 5-8-3 overall on the season and 0-4-2 in league play. TCU will play its final home match of the season on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. when it hosts Texas. The Horned Frogs will honor senior Monica Alvarado prior to the start of the match.
