WOMEN'S SOCCER: SDSU falls to TCU in MWC Tournament

As goalkeeper Christi Yount ran onto the field at the start of overtime, the senior knew it could very well be the last time she would do so donning red and black.

The San Diego State women’s soccer team’s season would come down to a final overtime period and Yount wanted to make sure it wouldn’t be the end to her soccer career.

The game wouldn’t come down to Yount, though, as an unfortunate break that went in TCU’s favor was all it needed to defeat SDSU 2-1 in the MWC Tournament last Wednesday at Peter Johann Memorial Field in Las Vegas.

“It was really disappointing losing in overtime and frustrating because I felt we could’ve won,” Yount said. “They were not a team I thought was that much better than us.”

While the Aztecs were facing an evenly-matched opponent, the Horned Frogs came out with a little more kick in the opening half and it proved to be a big help.

TCU (14-4-2, 4-2-1 in MWC play) held a 6-2 advantage in shots in the first half and freshman forward Jordan Calhoun connected on her 15th goal of the season, giving the Horned Frogs a 1-0 lead. SDSU looked to tie it up after the goal, but couldn’t even get off a shot in the next 15 minutes and had to settle with a one-goal deficit going into halftime.

The Aztecs came out of the half with more intensity and picked up a goal from redshirt sophomore Cat Walker in the 50th minute. It was the midfielder’s team-leading 10th goal of the season and placed her in a tie for seventh on SDSU’s single-season scoring list.

For the remainder of the second half, neither team was able to find much offensive success and needed overtime to settle the match.

After the Aztecs defended a TCU corner kick in the first period of overtime, the ball bounced off three players and rolled into a crowd. One Horned Frog ended up on the ground, but somehow managed to poke the ball through two defenders’ legs for the game-winner.

“It was disappointing losing on a goal like that,” Yount said. “I didn’t feel they deserved it and it wasn’t a quality goal.”

After great strides last year, the opening-round exit wasn’t exactly what SDSU (6-10-3, 2-4-1) was expecting. Despite the Aztecs season record and sixth-place seeding in the MWC tournament, they didn’t plan on losing their chances at an NCAA bid on a fluke goal.

Head coach Mike Friesen believes the results of this season have helped demonstrate the team’s flaws and also has helped the team build confidence.
Walker added the experiences the Aztecs have gone through this year will pay off for the players down the road and help SDSU develop into a very talented team.

“In the end, this season wasn’t as successful as we had hoped when it comes to our overall record,” Walker said. “But we were playing some of the best soccer we have played in a few seasons, so we are looking forward to next year and growing even more.”

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