TCU couldn’t survive a five-goal onslaught from the women’s soccer team, to the Lobos’ disappointment, said defender Zaneta Wyne.
“The first half they came out really hard,” she said. “We just kept going at them and we finally broke them down a little bit and got some goals in. It just seems like, in the second half, they fell apart a little bit. It’s a bummer.”
The women’s team finished the night with a 7-1 victory and nabbed its second Mountain West conference title.
Head coach Kit Vela said she thought it was a great way to send off the senior class, which includes Wyne, Amanda Collins, Roxie McFarland, Jael Fanning, Jennifer Williams, and Gianna Cavuoto.
“This senior class deserves it,” Vela said. “They’ve been everything to the program for the last four years, so kudos to them. They deserve everything they got tonight.”
Wyne shot over the keeper to score the first goal for the Lobos just 3:37 into the contest after receiving a pass from Fanning.
TCU was able to answer quickly, with Jordan Calhoun’s score in the fifth tying it at 1-1.
Before the half was over, forward Jennifer Williams beat a defender and the keeper to score with 10 minutes left in the first half to give the Lobos a 2-1 lead at halftime.
Vela said she thought the first half was a battle between the two teams, but the second half was a completely different story.
“It’s awesome,” she said. “They have heart and soul and a lot of character. We had some good opportunities early on, then we scored one and gave up one and it went back and forth. Then the flood gates opened up after that; it was fun to watch.”
Junior Natalie Jenks started the second-half scoring streak off by beating the goalie one-on-one for a 3-1 lead just 4:17 into the second half.
Fanning followed with the next goal, and Williams scored less than a minute later, bumping up the score to 5-1 in the Lobos’ favor.
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Williams’ goals were her 11th and 12th of the season.
Stephanie Rowe and Brianna Webster added two more goals with less than 11 minutes left to give the Lobos a 7-1 win over the Horned Frogs.
Jenks said she thought TCU started to crack during the second half, and that was a key reason why the Lobos were able to score so much.
“I think they kind of started falling apart a little bit. Their defense started breaking up and we just had heart the whole game and attitude the whole game and it worked for us,” Jenks said.
With the win, the Lobos have a first-round bye in the MWC tournament next week in Albuquerque. Jenks said she’s looking forward to the tournament and knows that the team will have to keep the same intensity if it wants to come out on top.
“I think we just need to have the same attitude that we have right now: that we’re going to be Mountain West Conference Tournament Champions, and not just champions of the regular season,” she said.
