by Fort Worth, TX – After jumping out to an early lead, the TCU Horned Frogs were unable to hold off the UCF Knights as they fell 2-1 Thursday night inside Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium. The Knights responded to an early TCU goal with two of their own in a five-minute span to earn their second conference win of the season.
The Rundown
The Frogs came out firing early in the first half as Emma Yolinsky continued her impressive stretch of play. In the ninth minute, Peyton Nourse found Yolinsky, past the UCF defense who sent a left-footed strike into the back of the net to give TCU an early 1-0 lead. The goal marked her seventh of the season and third straight for the Frogs after scoring twice against Cincinnati.
However, the Knights would not trail for long as they quickly responded in the 14th minute. Gabi Berchon found Tyra Eriksen breaking through the TCU defensive line and Eriksen put the ball past Olivia Geller to even the match at one. Just five minutes later, UCF would strike again as Berchon scored her second assist of the night sending another into the box for Alysiah Lockette, who headed it over Geller and into the back of the net to give the Knights a 2-1 lead.
The Frogs would continue to search for an equalizer throughout the remainder of the half, earning five corner kicks and taking five shots in the half, but the UCF defense held strong as the Knights carried their one-goal advantage into the locker room at halftime.
Coming out of the half, both sides continued to trade attacking opportunities, but neither team was able to find the back of the net. TCU would get one of its better chances in the 64th minute when Yolinsky found herself one-on-one with UCF keeper Kaïna Cesar. However, Yolinsky’s fancy footwork was not enough to get past the keeper who deflected the first attack by Yolinsky before Jada Silvest cleared the danger to preserve the Knights’ lead.
With time beginning to run out, the Frogs would continue to push forward in search of the tying goal. Grace Vest would put a shot on frame late in the match, but Cesar was there to make the save. Nourse would get another opportunity from outside the 18-yard box, but her shot sailed way over the crossbar as UCF held on to secure the 2-1 road victory.
What’s Next
TCU (5-5-1, 2-3) will look to bounce back as they close out their three-match homestand against No. 12 Texas Tech on Sunday at 1 p.m. The match will be nationally televised on ESPN2 for the first time in conference history.
UCF (7-3-1, 2-2-1) will return home to take on Oklahoma State on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. before heading back on the road to face West Virginia on Oct. 16.
