TCU Hosts No. 12 Texas Tech In Historic Big 12 Soccer Showdown

FORT WORTH - TCU women's soccer will have a national television audience watching Sunday when the Horned Frogs welcome No. 12 Texas Tech to Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium for a rivalry matchup with significant Big 12 implications.

The contest kicks off at 1 p.m. CT on ESPN2, marking the first Big 12 women's soccer conference match televised on the network.

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For TCU, the historic broadcast comes at an important moment.

The Horned Frogs enter at 5-5-1 overall and 2-3 in Big 12 play, needing a victory to regain momentum after Thursday's disappointing 2-1 home loss to UCF.

Texas Tech, meanwhile, arrives undefeated at 8-0-4, including a 4-0-1 conference record, and riding a remarkable 17-match unbeaten streak.

The Red Raiders have also won four consecutive matches and sit alone atop the Big 12 standings.

That's quite a challenge for a TCU program that entered the season expecting to compete for another conference championship.

Head coach Eric Bell's squad was picked to finish first in the Big 12 preseason poll, receiving 13 of 16 first-place votes.

The Horned Frogs have captured four of the conference's previous six championships, establishing themselves among the league's most accomplished programs.

But this season hasn't gone according to plan.

One encouraging development has been the emergence of Emma Yolinsky, who leads TCU with seven goals.

Yolinsky scored the Horned Frogs' lone goal against UCF on Thursday, extending her personal scoring streak to three consecutive team goals.

She's increasingly become the focal point of TCU's attack, and the Horned Frogs will need another productive afternoon from her against a Texas Tech defense that's allowed just three goals in five Big 12 matches.

The Red Raiders are coming off an impressive 3-0 victory at Oklahoma State, scoring three times in the opening 18 minutes.

Taylor Zdrojewski leads Texas Tech with eight goals this season, while goalkeeper Addie Todd has recorded seven shutouts.

History, however, offers TCU some encouragement.

The Horned Frogs lead the all-time series 19-11-7 and hold a 9-4-3 advantage in meetings played in Fort Worth.

Three of the previous four matchups have ended in draws, including last season's 1-1 result in Lubbock when Morgan Brown delivered a second-half equalizer.

Sunday also represents TCU's seventh appearance on an ESPN linear network, with every previous appearance coming during Bell's tenure.

Beyond the television milestone, the match carries significant postseason implications.

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TCU needs conference points to improve its position in the Big 12 standings, while Texas Tech is attempting to protect its unbeaten record and conference lead.

For the Horned Frogs, there's no better opportunity to change the direction of their season than knocking off an undefeated in-state rival before a national audience.