Sept. 30, 2005
Final Stats
FORT WORTH, Texas -
The TCU Horned Frogs dominated the match from start to finish en route to a 4-0 win over Sam Houston State Friday afternoon at Garvey-Rosenthal. Bjarnveig Birgisdottir was the highlight of the match as she recorded the Frogs first hat trick since Jill Cook accomplished the feat on Sept. 3, 1999 against LSU. Katie Buchanan recorded four saves for her second shutout of the season.
The Frogs missed a couple of early chances to take the lead, but finally capitalized in the 12th minute. Birgisdottir connected on her first goal of the match, heading the ball past Bearkat goalkeeper Melissa Sauceda. The goal was set up on two perfect passes as Lauren Pope fed the ball to Caroline Starns who placed the ball in the perfect place for Birgisdottir.
Six minutes later, Birgisdottir gave the Frogs the 2-0 lead. TCU kept the pressure on the Bearkat defense as Kim Thompson blistered a shot from the penalty area that clanged off the right post and right out to a waiting Birgisdottir, who tapped it in to the left of Sauceda.
The Frogs would take the 2-0 lead into halftime. The Bearkats were able to rip off six shots, forcing Buchanan to make four saves in the period. At half, the Frogs held a 15-6 advantage in shots.
In the second half, the Frogs came out on fire and dominated, holding the ball on the offensive side for most of the period, allowing just one Sam Houston shot to their 18. The Frogs connected for two more goals in the period.
In the 57th minute, Angie Nickens found the back of the net for her second goal of the season. Birgisdottir again played a key role in the goal as she took a Karissa Hill feed and placed it in the perfect spot for Nickens, who took the angle shot from the left of the goal and buried it in the upper right corner to give the Frogs a 3-0 lead.
Sixteen minutes later, Birgisdottir completed the hat trick. Starns out-hustled the Bearkat defenders and challenged Sauceda as she was coming out to corral the ball. She never got control and Starns continued to battle and found Birgisdottir wide open for the empty-netter.
The Frogs recorded a season-high 33 shots in the match as well as a high with 16 shots on goal. Despite allowing four goals, Sauceda made 12 saves in the match.
The Frogs evened their record at 4-4 with the victory. They will host the Boise State Broncos on Sunday afternoon at Garvey-Rosenthal. The game can be heard live by visiting www.gofrogs.com. Jackie Rodriguez and RJ Choppy will provide all the action. Match time is slated for 1:00.
