Katy Taylor's Spring Journal

The California native, who made 16 starts during the 2009 season, recorded two goals during the fall from her defender position. Taylor picked up Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Week accolades after leading a defense that held No. 15 Texas to just seven shot attempts for the entire match, including only three in the second half.

What are your goals for this upcoming season?
"I want to be consistent in my areas and be a better leader for our team. As a team, we want to win a Mountain West Conference Championship."

How has the spring season been?
"This has been a very good spring for us. As a team, we didn't like how last year went and are determined to change that. Everyone has put in extra time this spring to improve in all different areas and working really hard. It has really shown. Even our fitness has reached levels that it has never been at before."

What do you expect out of the team this season?
"I expect a lot of great things from this team this season. We have been working so hard this spring and I have seen so many things change. Not just technique wise, but also in our attitudes. This year, we won't let adversity stop us in any way. Also, we will always finish what we started. We have several freshmen coming in that will need to get on the same page, so that they understand where we want to go, which is a conference title and an NCAA Tournament berth."

What do you like to do for fun outside of soccer?
"Outside of soccer, I like to go to the movies. I love to bake and cook as well. My roommates hate me for that because I am always baking. Probably, my biggest passion is football. Anything to do with football, I am doing it. For example, I played in a powder puff game a few weeks ago and I also just recorded the NFL draft."

You are an avid football fan, what position would you play and why?
"Well, it would be a toss up between wide receiver and safety. I would probably play wide receiver because I love the different routes they run. I'm pretty good at catching the ball as well. I could also be a safety because I am so defensive minded. I would be able to see the whole field, plus I would still be able to catch the ball when I pick it and take it to the house."

Relax Station in the BLUU

Yesterday in the BLUU (student center) there was a relax station for students as they prepare for finals week. On the first floor there was a medicure and pedicure station that seemed to be a student favorite with a crowd of over 50 girls taking advantage of the free station. On the second floor there was an oxygen bar that also seemed to be pretty popular, in addition, there was also a massage station that seemed to be worth the wait. The relax station was a success and a lot of students took advantage of the free activities, giving them a break from studying for finals.

Soccer Team Honored at All-Sports Banquet

The soccer program was awarded the Hal Harbuck Community Service Award Monday night at the All-Sports Banquet. This award is presented annually to a person or group who demonstrates going above and beyond the call of duty in the field of community service award. The team's clinic "Kicks for Cook" was the service that won the girls recognition, however, it was all of the voluntary hours on the weekends that won the girls the award. All of the girls went through special training so that they can become volunteers and work at the hospital on the weekends.

Congrats girls on winning the Hall Harbuck Community Service Award!!

Congrats to Laurie Topham

We would like to send out a special congratulations to Laurie Topham for receiving the Carolyn Dixon Award last night at the All Sports Banquet . Mrs. Topham is the creator of the Mentor Luncheon that the soccer team is involved in every spring semester. She has put this event on for the girls every year since 2002 and this past year has started the same event for the TCU Volleyball team. We would like to say thank you for everything she does for our program and congratulations on the special award highlighting everything she does for TCU women's athletics. 

Frogs in the NFL Draft

Daryl Washington and Marshall Newhouse were both selected in the 2010 NFL Draft this past weekend. Washington was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2nd round with the 47th pick; while Newhouse was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 5th round with the 169th pick. 

Three more Frogs were signed as free agents including: deep snapper Clint Gresham, corner back Rafael Priest, and offensive lineman Nic Richmond. Both Gresham and Priest were signed with the defending Super Bowl Champions, New Orleans Saints; while Richmond was signed with the San Diego Chargers. 

In his 9 seasons at TCU Coach Gary Patterson now has 47 former players who have signed NFL contracts during his tenure. 

Final Spring Game

We finished our spring season this past saturday at home versus UNT. The field was in perfect condition with a fresh paint job and clean cut; the fieldhouse construction was in the background gaining momentum for all to see. Under Saturday night lights you could not ask for a better setting or game atmosphere the stands were full and the girls put on a show of offensive power. Kim Castleberry continued her scoring ways with a goal that followed Chelsea Cody's shot that almost ripped through the net. Kira Michelson-Bartlett looked impressive in the goal with a multiple save game and did not concede any goals. We can not wait until the fall season now, the first home game is against Texas Southern on Sunday August 22nd at 1PM. 

Jerry Hughes goes in RD 1 Pick 31 in NFL Draft

Congrats to Jerry Hughes for being selected in the 2010 NFL Draft 1st Round last night. Jerry was selected with the 31st pick by the Indianapolis Colts. This is the 22nd player under Coach Patterson's tenure at TCU to be drafted. Hughes now joins a proud list of Horned Frogs that were selected in the first round. A native of Sugar Land, Texas Jerry had never played defense before arriving at TCU and during his time here he 2-time team MVP, Lott Trophy winner, Ted Hendricks Award winner, and just the second 2-time consensus All-American in TCU history. 

TCU's First-Round Draft Choices
1936 - Jimmy Lawrence, WB
1937 - Sam Baugh, QB
1939 - Ki Aldrich, C
1939 - I.B. Hale, T
1939 - Davey O'Brien, QB
1958 - Jim Shofner, DB
1960 - Jack Spikes, FB
1961 - Bob Lilly, DT
1970 - Norm Bulaich, RB
1984 - Allanda Smith, DB
2001 - LaDainian Tomlinson, RB
2010 - Jerry Hughes, DE

Update on the Jane Justin Fieldhouse

With perfect weather lately in the Fort Worth area; the construction crews continue their efforts on building the Jane Justin Fieldhouse. Dan and Mark walked the interior today and got an up close view of all the progress that has been made in the past few weeks. The completion date is for the fieldhouse is at the end of the summer and it will be ready for the fall season. Everyone is very excited about the construction and the progress they have made. 

Matt Lewis receives Equipment Manager of the Year

The TCU Soccer Program would like to congratulate Matt Lewis on his prestigious award of the 2010 Glenn Sharp Equipment Manager of the Year. Lewis will be presented the award at the Athletic Equipment Managers Association National Conference in Chattanooga, Tennessee in June. Lewis is in his 8th year at TCU and has been instrumental in the development of the new Nike Pro Combat jerseys that the Frogs displayed in their rout against Utah this year; the football team also presented him with the "game ball" for that night also. 

Thanks Matt for your hard work and dedication to the athletic programs here at TCU. 

Purple & White Competition Day

Today the girls picked the favorite game of Futsol to play in the rec center for their competition. The Purple team showed up in all black uniforms, while the White team showed up as "nerds." Purple team was led by Kaylie Garcia in the Futsol competition when she scored a plethora of goals including an impressive back heel goal for a game winner. The White team responded in the volleyball series by showing off some impressive "digs" and rally points to split the points on the day. Chelsea Cody was a force to be reckoned with; by dishing out the deep "digs" which the purple team just could not respond to. 

The competition now stands at 6 points for Purple and 4 points for White with only a few more competitions remaining it looks like it is Purple's to lose. 

2nd Annual Kicks for Cook

The second annual Kicks for Cook soccer clinic was held this weekend on Friday and Sunday at the Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium and Sam Baugh Indoor Practice Facility. On both days there was an average attendance of 70 participants. The participants ranged in age from kindergarden through eight-graders and came from all around the metroplex. All of the proceeds go directly to Cook Children's Hospital. The clinic is organized, marketed, and executed by the soccer team all on their own. 

2010 Football Schedule Announced

The 2010 football schedule has been announced and it includes numerous games on national television. The opening game is going to be aired as the Game of The Week on ESPN2 where the Frogs look to dominate the Oregon State Beavers at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas on September 4th. The Frogs will also be on the ESPN networks when they place metroplex rivals SMU in a special game under Friday night lights on September 24th. The Frogs will look to capture another Mountain West Conference Title in 2010 and almost every game is going to be aired on the Versus channel or the MTN. Network. 

2010-2011 SCHEDULE ( Click on an event for complete event information )

Date	Opponent / Event	Location	Time / Result
09/04/10	vs. Oregon State	Arlington, Texas	6:45 p.m. CT
09/11/10	vs. Tennessee Tech	Fort Worth, Texas	6:00 p.m. CT
09/18/10	vs. Baylor	Fort Worth, Texas	3:30 p.m. CT
09/24/10	at SMU	Dallas, Texas	7:00 p.m. CT
10/02/10	at Colorado State	Fort Collins, Colo.	1:00 p.m. CT
10/09/10	vs. Wyoming	Fort Worth, Texas	2:30 p.m. CT
10/16/10	vs. BYU	Fort Worth, Texas	3:00 p.m. CT
10/23/10	vs. Air Force	Fort Worth, Texas	7:00 p.m. CT
10/30/10	at UNLV	Las Vegas, Nev.	10:00 p.m. CT
11/06/10	at Utah	Salt Lake City, Utah	2:30 p.m. CT
11/13/10	vs. San Diego State	Fort Worth, Texas	3:00 p.m. CT
11/27/10	at New Mexico	Albuquerque, N.M.	3:00 p.m. CT

FROGS HOST FIRST OF TWO CLINICS

Tomorrow, 16 April, the Frogs will be hosting the first of two soccer clinics to benefit Cook Children's Medical Hospital this weekend. The clinic will take place at Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm. The clinics are open to kindergarten through eigth-grade students. Walk-ups are welcome!

The second clinic will on Sunday, April 18 from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm. Again, walk-up registrations are welcome!

All proceeds from both clinics will benefit Cook Children's.

For more details please, or if you would like to donate to the clinic, contact assistant coach Michelle Royal at m.royal@tcu.edu or (817) 257-6680.

Baseball Rolls Past A&M

The baseball team played their annual grudge match against Texas A&M last night here at Lupton Stadium in front a record breaking crowd of over 4,500 fans. It was the "Purple Out" game and their was more purple than the Aggies could handle winning comfortably 6-1. The Frogs were excellent in all areas offensively and defensively they dominated the Aggies for all 9 innings. The Frogs are ranked #10 in the nation and 23-7 on the year as they return to conference play against BYU in Provo this weekend. 

2nd Annual Team Banquet

Sunday night the team held our 2nd annual team banquet in the beautiful Meyer-Martin endzone Room in the football stadium. Friends and family made this years banquet the biggest yet, with honorary guest from the Board of Trustees and the Director of Athletics. The night saw many team awards handed out such as: Offensive MVP Jackie Torda, "Addy" Award went to Kristen Halverson, and Defensive MVP went to Kelsey Walters plus many others. Academic awards were handed out to almost every team member demonstrating the effort the girls put into not only athletics but academics as well. The night ended with the 3 seniors giving their words of advice and many pictures that will soon be posted here on the blog. 

Saturday's Games

We played two games this weekend back to back to present a challenge to the girls; and they responded very well. In the first game against Texas Tech, who is becoming a bitter rival, the girls dominated possession and had the better scoring opportunities throughout the match; strong performances from Chelsea Cody and Mexico National Teamer Kaylie Garcia made the score 0-0.

In the second game against Arkansas the girls came out as if they were the fresh team who had not played an hour before hand. With goals from Kim Castleberry and Jackie Torda, Arkansas never had an answer. Kira Michelson-Bartlett continued her streak of not conceding any goals in the spring season with another multiple save game. 

The Horned Frogs are now 2-0 against Big 12 teams, 1-0 against the SEC and 8-1-1 for the overall spring. Next and final spring game is Saturday April 24th at Garvey-Rosenthal Stadium.

Champions League Update

Dan's favorite club Bayern Munich has knocked out the last English club Manchester United due to the away goals rule; the two teams split the home and away fixtures however Bayern had more away goals giving them advancement into the semi-final round. Barcelona continues to look like the tournament favorite easily dispatching Arsenal behind Messi's 4 goal performance. Inter Milan and Lyon are the other two teams who round up the final four in the Champions League. The semi-final matches are as follows: Inter vs. Barcelona and Lyon vs. Bayern Munich. 

Jane Justin Fieldhouse Construction Update

The Jane Justin Fieldhouse construction is gaining speed. The foundation has been laid and the walls are rising. With all of the great weather that we have had construction is going very smooth and the fieldhouse should be ready this summer. The fieldhouse is taking shape right in front our eyes, with the outline of the steps at the base and the concourse connecting the main stands to the 2nd floor of the building. With perfect weather in the forecasts the construction will continue to be right on schedule.

Nicaragua Girls team gets TCU Cleats

Over 50 pairs of cleats were donated to alumni Anne (Monaghan) Potter and David Potter. David took these cleats with them on his mission trip to Nicaragua and donated them to an all women's team in San Marcos a village of Carazo, Nicaragua. In addition, there were so many cleats donated that every time David makes a trip to Central America he can donate more cleats to more girls and continue to make an impact in their lives. The TCU Soccer program would like to thank David and Anne Potter for everything they have done.

2nd Annual Kicks For Cook

The 2nd Annual Kicks for Cooks Children Hospital will be held on April 16th and 18th. This is an event where the team teaches soccer skills to help benefit the Cooks Children Hospital here in Fort Worth. All of the proceeds will benefit the medical program at Cooks Children Hospital. The two clinics are open to kindergarten through eighth graders. On April 16th there are two clinics starting at 5:00 PM and 6:30 PM, also, on April 18th at 3:00PM. 

Happy Easter!

All of us at TCU Soccer want to wish you and your family a very Happy Easter! Hope you enjoy the day with your families!

HORNED FROGS IN ACTION THIS WEEKEND!

What a great day in Ft Worth today....sunny and in the high 70s!!!! Although the Horned Frog soccer team is off for the Easter Weekend, there are plenty Horned Frog teams competing. The TCU baseball, men's & women's tennis as well as men's and women's track & field teams are all in action.

The #11 baseball team has defeated San Diego State 4-1 and 11-5 in the first two games of the three game series at Lupton Stadium where the Frogs are now 13-1 on the season. The final game of the series begins this afternoon.

The 4 time defending MWC champions have moved back to first place in the conference. The women's and men's tennis teams are also defending conference champions as the conference portion of both teams began this weekend. The women's tennis team opened Moutain West Conference play yesterday with a 6-1 win over Air Force and they continue with matches against Wyoming today and Colorado State tomorrow at the TCU Tennis Center. The men's tennis team opened their conference season with a dramatic 4-3 win over #60 UNLV on the road in Las Vegas yesterday. The Frogs will take on San Diego State tomorrow at SDSU to finish their road trip.

The men's and women's track & field teams are in Austin this weekend taking part in the 2010 Texas Relays. The Frogs have had outstanding showings as Junior Sean Zurko made history becoming the first Horned Frog ever to win the 800 meters at the Texas Relays with the 10th fastest time in the NCAA this year. Freshman Emily Hanna followed that up with the second best heptathlon score in progam history. Then yesterday, Whitney Gipson soared to a fourth place finish in the women's long jump. The men's sprint medly closed Friday ight clocking the sixth fastest time in program history, while Festus Kigan earned runner up accolades in the men's 1500 meters. In the final day of the 83rd Texas Relays today, the men's 4x100 relay will run in the finals as well as freshman Larissa Matthews who has qualified for the 100 meter hurdles final, and Charles Simon will compete in the 100 meter finals as well.

We will return to spring exhibition action next weekend taking on Texas Tech and Arkansas on April 10th at Garvey Rosental Soccer Stadium. Then on the 11th of April, we will host our annual team banquet. If you are interested in attending the banquet, tickets are still available, just email coach Michelle Royal at m.royal@tcu.edu. GO FROGS!