TCU women’s soccer erased a second-half deficit behind Mackenzie Hilderman and Kamdyn Fuller, but the No. 6 Frogs settled for a 2-2 home-opening draw with UTSA.
TCU women’s soccer had nearly everything working in its home opener against UTSA except the final score.
The No. 6 Horned Frogs controlled long stretches of the match, piled up a commanding 20-7 advantage in shots and generated enough late pressure to steal a winner.
Instead, TCU had to settle for a 2-2 draw after fighting its way back from a second-half deficit at Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium.
Freshman Mackenzie Hilderman delivered the first big moment of the night.
With halftime approaching, a dangerous free kick from Eres Freifeld created chaos inside the UTSA box. Kamdyn Fuller helped keep the play alive before Hilderman finished it, scoring the first goal of her college career and giving TCU a 1-0 lead.
That advantage disappeared quickly after the break.
UTSA struck twice in a span of less than four minutes, turning a controlled TCU performance into a sudden 2-1 hole. It was the kind of stretch that can completely flip a match, but the Frogs didn't disappear.
Instead, they turned up the pressure.
TCU fired 13 shots in the second half and kept forcing the Roadrunners to defend. The breakthrough finally arrived in the 82nd minute off a corner kick from Bella Diorio. Emma Yolinsky redirected the ball across the box, where Fuller hammered home the equalizer for her first goal of the season.
TCU still had time to go hunting for all three points.
The Frogs produced three more shots and another corner over the final eight minutes, but UTSA survived the push and escaped Fort Worth with a draw.
Fuller was at the center of TCU's attack, finishing with both a goal and an assist. Freifeld, Diorio and Yolinsky also picked up assists, while Hilderman's debut goal gave the Frogs another young attacking option to watch.
A crowd of 1,225 saw a TCU team that probably deserved more than one point based on the chances it created.
The result may sting, but the response after falling behind was encouraging.
TCU won't have much time to dwell on it. The Horned Frogs now head to Tuscaloosa for a road test against Alabama on Aug. 20, where converting more of those chances could be the difference between another frustrating night and a statement win.
