KANSAS CITY, Mo. – BYU women’s soccer fell to TCU 2-1 in the Sprouts Farmers Market Big 12 Soccer Championship Semifinal Wednesday afternoon at CPKC Stadium.
Scoring her second goal of the tournament, BYU junior Mackenzee Vance tallied her seventh goal of the year against TCU Wednesday afternoon.
In a physical matchup, four yellow cards were awarded, three to BYU players. 18 total fouls were called during the game.
The Horned Frogs outshot the Cougars 12-9, with six on target compared to BYU’s five. TCU also held the advantage in corner kicks with six to BYU’s three.
First Half
The teams went back and forth to start the match, with BYU’s Lucy Kesler taking the first shot in the second minute from deep, missing wide right.
TCU’s first chance on goal came in the ninth minute with a corner kick, volleyed right into the arms of BYU's Lynette Hernaez.
In the 13th minute, Presley Freeman and Mika Krommenhoek moved the ball up the right side of the pitch, finding the feet of Allie Fryer. She dribbled to the top of the 18 and fired off a shot, missing just outside the left goalpost.
After a yellow card was issued to BYU’s Avery Frischknecht, the Horned Frogs had a free kick just outside the 18-yard box, punched away by Hernaez. The Cougars countered with back-to-back corner kicks, both cleared out by the TCU backline.
In the 20th minute, Gardner beat her defender to feed a through ball to Krommenhoek, who crossed it into the box. The ball ricocheted off a TCU defender and Mackenzee Vance stepped up and put it into the far right corner, putting the Cougars up 1-0.
With just under six minutes remaining in the first half, TCU drove the ball up the right side of the pitch and sent a cross into the box to find the foot of Caroline Kelly for the equalizer.
Less than a minute later, the Horned Frogs sent another ball from the right side of the pitch and found Seven Castain, who fired off a shot past Hernaez to take a 2-1 lead.
The Horned Frogs held the 2-1 advantage heading into halftime, with eight shots to BYU’s seven. Both goalkeepers tallied two saves through the first 45 minutes on the pitch.
Second Half
Vance had the first shot of the second half from well outside the 18, collected by the TCU goalkeeper.
The Horned Frogs held a majority of the possession for the next 15 minutes, but the Cougar backline held firm, allowing just one shot.
In the 63rd minute, Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year Bella Diorio had a one-on-one opportunity on goal, but Hernaez came off her line to make the save for the Cougars.
BYU began to put the pressure on TCU with 20 minutes remaining in the match as Freeman sent a ball into the box that bounced around with a few attempts on goal from Fryer and Erin Bailey before being cleared out.
The Cougars held their pressure on TCU’s defense, keeping the ball in their offensive third for the next 10 minutes.
Despite a final push by the Cougar offense and a shot by Krommenhoek in the final seconds, TCU held the 2-1 advantage, advancing to the championship match to be played Saturday evening.
BYU now awaits seeding in the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA selection show will be on Monday, November 11 at 2 p.m. MT. Teams will be announced live on NCAA.com.