Ladyjacks Suffer Setback to TCU at Home, 4-0

Sunday, September 17

Nacogdoches, Texas

1:00 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

4-4

TCU

6-3

TCU

SFA

Photo by: Hardy Meredith | SFA Photography

Ladyjacks Suffer Setback to TCU at Home, 4-0

9/17/2017 3:36:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

SFA was outshot 19-5 in the defeat

By: Kevin Meyer | Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

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NACOGDOCHES, Texas -- The Stephen F. Austin women's soccer team fell behind to TCU in the 14th minute of Sunday's matinee and never recovered, ceding the match by a 4-0 margin when all was said and done. The loss drops the team to 4-4 on the season and hands the Ladyjacks their worst loss of the season, just two days after opening conference play with an impressive 2-0 victory over Northwestern State on Friday.

In a game marked by physical play by both sides as well as TCU's unrelenting pressure on the attack, the Horned Frogs earned 10 corner kicks on the day and put them to good use, scoring three of their four goals via the set pieces to overpower the home side. A 19-5 shot advantage in TCU's favor told the story, as the 'Jacks found themselves barraged by shots from a variety of angles and ranges. Goalkeeper Allyson Smith (2-3) did her best in the losing effort, making four saves and notching several key clearances as well.

"It was disappointing and it stings to give up this game", SFA head coach Wally Crittenden said. "Giving up three goals on set pieces is frustrating, and basically it all comes down to making a play, and as a staff we just didn't put our kids in position to make good plays on set pieces. On the the flip side, I felt good about our kid's competitive identity, the attitude, the energy and the effort, and if there's something we're going to take away from this it is some improvements as a staff that we will use to prepare our team better for our next chance at a game of this caliber to win that game. We as a team know where we want to go, and working hard and competing at a high level is not enough to get there, you have to execute from a technical standpoint as well, so that's where we will use today's experience to drive that message home and improve moving forward."

TCU wasted little time getting pressure on the offensive end, getting off their first shot just 28 seconds into the game, and in the 14th minute earned the corner kick that would net them their first goal of the game. A corner kick in the 36th minute yielded a similar result, and a third corner in the second half in the 55th minute complete the aerial attack, as the Horned Frogs pounced on the loose ball after an initial save by Smith and slotted it home for a 3-0 lead. The Horned Frogs would tack on a final goal in the 77th minute off of a penetrating run down the left side leading to a service into the center of the box and a finish from close range.

The 'Jacks did make some headway on the offensive end, including several attacking runs that just missed the final connecting pass, and thus left the Ladyjacks short on total shots for the day. SFA did have some well struck balls among the five shots, but the team's best attempts were from some range. Mari Gillespie had the 'Jacks first attempt on goal for the day in the eighth minute, driving a ball low and fast at the net, but Horned Frogs keeper Katie Lund was in good position to make the save handily. In the 12th minute, freshman Sophie Fondren got a look at goal from 22 yards out, but sent the ball wide of frame on the attempt. In the 48th minute and down 2-0, SFA got its next look from Katelyn Termini, who fired a scintillating strike towards the upper 90 of the TCU goal from 26 yards out, but the 6'0 Lund stretched out to knock the ball away with an equally impressive save. An attempt by Hanna Barker in the 52nd minute showed promise as well, but the attempt went wide of frame as well.

"Today our organization on set pieces was good, but they made some big plays, and we gave up a few too many set pieces too them, so that's something we need to tighten up", Crittenden added. "We're going to take this game and use it to build our team around, and if we do that we should be in a good spot moving forward. We had some good moments in there, we had a couple chances to do something really special and we were just a pass away in those instances. When you get into, our kids are working hard and competing hard to try and make a statement, and sometimes you just need to find a balance between that effort and the patience and composure to help make a play."

Next up for the Ladyjacks is a return to conference play next weekend, as they continue a four-game homestand against Houston Baptist and Texas A & M Corpus-Christi. Houston Baptist has struggled this season, going 1-4-1 in the early going, while A & M Corpus-Christi is 4-2-1 in the 2017 season.