By Ray Cartwright
Frogs Today staff writer
SAN MARCOS — TCU finished off a 2-0 road trip Sunday with a 3-0 win over a spunky Texas State team, as freshman Tyler Isgrig netted two goals and registered an assist.
The Horned Frogs handed the Bobcats their first loss of the season.
“We recruited her as a goal-scorer,” Bell said. “She’s starting to find her rhythm and niche within the team. Hopefully this propels her to have an even better season as we get into conference play.
It was a sluggish start for the Frogs as Texas State came out with a different scheme, and it really seemed to frustrate TCU in the first half. TCU dominated possession but had trouble figuring out Texas State’s defense.
TCU had several opportunities in first half. In the 19th minute Oli Pena had a quality shot on goal, but it was stopped. In the 32nd minute, Isgrig narrowly missed scoring a goal a strike that struck the crossbar.
“I think that we had to be patient,” Bell said. “They came out with a different shape with a five back, and it made it a little bit more challenging for us to break them down. We had to give them some information at the half to help them, and I thought they were able to do what we asked from a tactical standpoint.”
The Horned Frogs took that information and took off in the second half. TCU was awarded a penalty shot in the 48th minute on a hand ball, and Isgrig was able to bury the ball in the back of the net for her first goal. It was also TCU’s first converted penalty of the season.
Two minutes later on corner kick set piece, Isgrig was able to find Olivia Hasler. She then touched it over to Messiah Bright, and Bright was able to put the ball in.
TCU continued the pressure, and it paid off in the 83rd minute. Pena fed a beautiful pass to a surging Isgrig, who used some fancy footwork to get past a Texas State defender and bury a strike in the top left corner for the game’s final goal.
“I saw Oli win the ball in the midfield and she started to counter, so started to think of how I could get open,” Isgrig said. “She was able to slip me behind and I saw the defender was going to my left, so I thought to use my right foot on the inside of the right post.”
Goalkeeper Lauren Kellett notched her fourth shutout of the season, facing only one shot. But that one shot required incredible effort on her part to deflect it away.
TCU has a couple of days of rest before concluding the nonconference schedule Saturday night against another ranked opponent, Harvard.
“They’re a good team, they’re projected to win the Ivy League, and it should be a good game,” Bell said. “We need all the Frog fans to come out and support us on a Saturday night.”
