FORT WORTH, Texas — The fourth-ranked West Virginia University women’s soccer team fell to No. 3 TCU, 1-0, on Friday night at Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Horned Frogs’ goal in the 51st minute proved to be the difference in the contest, despite the Mountaineers (7-2, 7-2 Big 12) holding a 12-4 advantage in shots. With the win, TCU (8-0-1, 8-0-1 Big 12) claimed the 2020 Big 12 regular-season championship.
“It’s hard to swallow when you lose such a big game, but we have to understand that from this loss, we have to get better,” WVU coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “We have to understand that as we move into our championship season in the spring, this has to be the fire in our belly to get ready.”
Redshirt junior forward Lauren Segalla made the hosts work early on, as she fired the first shot of the night in the eighth minute. The attempt was corralled by the TCU keeper.
Later on, senior midfielder Stefany Ferrrer-vanGinkel, the reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, smashed a hard shot from the top of the box that forced the Frogs into a diving save. It was one of three shots on goal for the Mountaineers on the night.
Defensively, sophomore goalkeeper Kayza Massey played a big role in keeping the match scoreless before halftime. After she tallied a tricky, first save just nine minutes into the affair, the Ottawa, Ontario, native made an athletic effort and tipped a TCU shot over the crossbar in the 39th minute.
Then, WVU registered a team save just moments before the half when freshman midfielder Lilly McCarthy headed a shot off the line.
The two schools returned to the locker room even at 0-0.
In the second half, TCU took the lead in the 51st minute when a Horned Frog attacker drove inside the box and found the back of the net on a hard shot to make it 1-0. It marked just the third time this season the Mountaineers’ opponent scored first in a match.
Minutes later, Segalla sent a good, low cross into the middle of the box but couldn’t find a teammate to connect with, spoiling a potential scoring opportunity, before sophomore forward/defender Julianne Vallerand’s attempt drifted wide in the 64th minute.
In need of the equalizer, junior forward Alina Stahl secured a pair of late chances, but a shot in the 86th minute was blocked and a second in the 88th minute sailed high. Stahl paced the team with three total shots in the loss.
“I thought TCU did a good job in disrupting us,” Izzo-Brown said. “Obviously, they came up with a couple of nice saves. We had some great looks, but to TCU’s credit, they did a good job of limiting us in trying to get that goal.”
Friday’s contest marked the first time WVU has been shut out since Nov. 24, 2019, against Washington State in the NCAA Tournament Third Round. It also was just the squad’s ninth loss in its last 71 away games.
With the setback, which snapped the team’s five-match win streak, the Mountaineers fell to 9-2-2 all-time against the Horned Frogs, including 3-1-1 in Fort Worth.
Next up, WVU will return to action next semester following the NCAA’s approval to move fall championships to spring 2021. The adjustments are being made due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
