Houston Soccer falls short against No. 5 TCU, out of Big 12 tournament contention

The dream of making the Big 12 tournament for Houston ended yesterday as Houston soccer fell to No. 5 TCU 2-0.

The Horned Frogs were crowned Big 12 Regular season champions in the process after their win, going 9-1-1 in Big 12 play with 28 points.

With BYU beating Utah 2-0 yesterday, the Cougars in blue took the eighth and final spot in the Big 12 tournament with the Cougars in red, Arizona State and Cincinnati missing out.

Despite already qualifying, TCU was dialed in from the start, locking down Houston defensively and preventing its offensive plays from developing. 

The Horned Frogs struck first in the 19th minute through senior forward AJ Hennessey, who launched a powerful shot toward the bottom left corner in acres of space that sailed into the net to make it 1-0. 

TCU would further compound the Cougars’ troubles in the 57th minute, when redshirt freshman midfielder Emma Yolinsky launched a curling shot inside Houston’s box that found the top corner of the goal to make it 2-0.

The bad times kept on rolling for the Cougars during the game, as senior forward Cameryn Maddox was sent off in the 82nd minute after receiving a second yellow for unsportsmanlike conduct, ending her college career in heartbreak.

However, it wasn’t all doom and gloom for Houston, as in the 80th minute, graduate goalkeeper Lexi Gonzalez saved a penalty for her 200th save in her college career.

The Cougars end their first season under coach Ben Williams with a 7-4-7 overall record, 2-4-5 in Big 12 play with 11 points and 10th place in the conference.

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