One team walks away ecstatic, with the other shaking heads with looks of disappointment. That was the scene following a thrilling tie in Thursday night’s first-ever Big 12 matchup between No. 1 BYU and unranked TCU.
Both squads were ruthless in their pursuit of the win and the crowd of over 5,400 Cougar fans only heightened the atmosphere. The night’s 3-3 draw was BYU’s first of the season but proved the No. 1 team knows how to react after a punch to the gut, not once, but three times. For the Horned Frogs, the draw was a testament to their aggressive high-press, their ability to play through a hostile environment, and a keeper who made a career-high 9 saves, overcoming the Cougars’ slew of 24 shots (TCU had 7). The frantic tempo of the battle was heightened by a number of physical skirmishes with the Cougars delivering 11 of the total fouls (17).
“It was a fantastic college game tonight,” BYU coach Jennifer Rockwood said. “The atmosphere was unbelievable, and the soccer was awesome. We’re obviously disappointed with the outcome, but really proud of the way we fought back against a great TCU team that proved to be able to score goals more than we had hoped.”
The scoring started just two minutes into the match with TCU’s high-press picking off a Cougar clearance and finding open Frog forward Gracie Brian in the box. Brian fired a shot into the upper net. The Frogs kept squeezing and delivered a ball to Utah native Seven Castain’s feet at the top of the 18. Castain, who played club with several BYU players — spun her defender and fired an inside-of-the-foot finish to the side-netting.
.@CastainSeven puts the Frogs up✌️
Seven is from Draper, Utah 😉#FIGHT | #GoFrogs pic.twitter.com/EsxDhquM0e
— TCU Soccer (@TCUSoccer) September 15, 2023
Fueled by the environment of the Cougars bench and fans, BYU split the lead in half in the 36th minute with a well-placed set piece that found senior Rachel McCarthy’s head mid-air, slipping the ball inside the posts. After the break, the Cougars scored quickly in the 54th minute with a cross-body equalizing shot just inside the box.
Allie ties up the game 🤌
📺 https://t.co/q1a8QRepBi pic.twitter.com/T4UQzMjkfi
— BYU Women’s Soccer (@byusoccer_w) September 15, 2023
Here’s when the game got even better. After scoring the squad’s first goal, Brian went off with a knock in the first half and sat on the bench, ice wrapped around her leg. With the BYU equalizer, Brian ripped off the wrapped ice and took the pitch, having an immediate impact. Brian floated a ball into Castain’s slashing run, earning her a brace and giving TCU the lead once again. Unfazed by the go-ahead goal, or maybe even fueled by it, BYU launched a series of attacks, finding pockets of space on the wings and delivering dangerous crosses into the box. The Cougars equalized again with a goal in the 78th minute.
Magical goal for EB7🪄
📺 https://t.co/q1a8QRepBi pic.twitter.com/knMFvWMk4y
— BYU Women’s Soccer (@byusoccer_w) September 15, 2023
The game would finish out 3-3 but not before both teams exhausted all their efforts. The physicality increased as the minutes decreased, with players on both ends dropping from tough tackles. The Frogs were content to hold the ball at the opponent’s corner flag, a tactic usually used when a team wants to hold the lead. In this case, for the unranked TCU facing the No. 1 team in the country, leaving with a point would suffice.
“It was a hard-fought game on the road again in a very hostile environment,” TCU coach Eric Bell said. “I’m really proud of our kids to come out here and getting a result against a very good team. The hype about BYU is legit. They are a very, very good team and I’m really proud of our group for coming out here, bringing it and coming away with a point. It’s fantastic.”