The No. 8 seed TCU women’s soccer team defeated the University of Texas Longhorns in a shootout to clinch its spot in its first Big 12 Championship game.

The match was a nail-biter. The defense of both the Horned Frogs and the Longhorns was strong, as only six total shots were fired through the first half. The game remained scoreless at the end of regulation.

In both overtime periods there was more of the same. The grand total of shot attempts was once again six, and the game was sent to penalty kicks in a scoreless tie.

In the set up each team gets five attempts to shoot the ball. Whichever team has scored more goals at the end of the five rounds is declared the winner.

Both teams lined up at mid-field. 

First up for the Frogs was freshman forward Lindsy Schafer, who found the back of the net. Longhorn midfielder Chantale Campbell’s shot attempt went off the goal post, and the Frogs were up 1-0.

Next up was Horned Frog forward Sarah Schweiss who netted her shot as well. The Longhorns broke the rhythm of the shootout when Lindsey Meyer was able to rattle one in past Frogs’ goalkeeper Vittoria Arnold. 2-1 was the score.

The Frogs' Serena Smith-Banas and the Longhorns' Sharis Lachappelle exchanged goals, making the score 3-2.

The Horned Frogs sent the team’s lone senior, Monica Alvarado, to the line for a shot. It was blocked. The Frogs got a great effort out of Arnold as she was able to save a penalty kick by  Julie Arnold. Ultimately it was junior Kelley Johnson who was able to clench the Horned Frog victory as she rattled the final goal of the game in past Longhorn goalkeeper Abby Smith.

Head coach Eric Bell said he applauded his team’s efforts to stay in the game. “We lost a couple players during the game and the kids battled. People off the bench battled in a tremendous way and I couldn’t be more elated with them,” he said.

Johnson said it was a hard fought battle by Texas. “They are very physical and we had some injuries, but people stepped up and played well. Everybody fought and wanted it collectively as a group."

Arnold came away with three saves on the night, but said a team effort on defense contributed to the win.  

"Any goalie would tell you that you can't win a game without your back line, so any credit to me is a credit to them," she said.

TCU is the first eight seed team to ever advance to the Big 12 Championship match. The Horned Frogs will play Baylor, who took down Texas Tech 2-1 in its semifinal game Friday. Match time for the title game is set for 1 p.m. Sunday.