TCU women’s soccer beats UNC on penalty kicks to reach NCAA Tournament’s Elite 8
TCU women’s soccer had no trouble scoring in its first two NCAA Tournament games, beating Grambling State and Memphis by a combined score of 11-0.
The third round was a bit more challenging and dramatic.
The fifth-ranked Horned Frogs tied defending national champion North Carolina with four seconds left in regulation, then prevailed 4-3 on penalty kicks after playing to a 1-1 deadlock Monday afternoon at Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium.
TCU (17-2-3), the No. 2 seed in its region, next goes on the road to face top-seeded and No. 8-ranked Vanderbilt (18-3-2) in the quarterfinals at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Nashville. This is the Horned Frogs’ second trip to the quarterfinals (2020), and they have never advanced to the Final Four.
With TCU trailing the Tar Heels 1-0 in the closing seconds of regulation, midfielder Kamdyn Fuller, the Big 12 Freshman of the Year, headed in the equalizer off a corner kick from senior midfielder Sydney Becerra.
Senior forward Seven Castain praised Fuller and the team’s poise throughout the season.
“It’s awesome,” Castain said. “The thing is about tournaments is, like, everybody’s gonna have to step up in different ways, and the fact that it was a 17-year-old freshman who gets to step up and have that moment is so cool. And for us, it’s not about who scores, it’s about winning the game.
“And so I’m unbelievably proud of her. I’m unbelievably proud of this team for fighting. I mean, there’s not a lot of teams that fight till the last second of the game, and so I think that’s something that this team has done very, very well this year. So I think this is really on brand for us, and I’m excited to see where it takes us.”
TCU coach Eric Bell described what he saw on the game-tying goal.
“It was a great service by Syd Becerra to get it to the back post, and Kamdyn was there to finish,” he said. “It was unbelievable. I think I’ve been a part of one game like that before, but this was crazy with the crowd and everything going on and the stakes that were obviously on the line. So really cool.”
Bell said the late equalizer also gave TCU some juice headed into extra time and penalty kicks.
“I felt as though we had the momentum after we scored, and, you know, looking at their body language at the end of regulation, they were a little down, right, and so we wanted to take advantage of that,” he said.
Senior forward AJ Hennessey converted the winning penalty kick for TCU.
In regulation, the Horned Frogs struggled to create opportunities against North Carolina (13-6-2), with only one shot in the game’s first 70 minutes.
However, TCU’s defense did its job, and the game would go through two overtimes before the Horned Frogs won the shootout.
TCU sophomore goalkeeper Olivia Geller, who had eight saves, talked about what made the Horned Frogs successful defensively against the Tar Heels.
“Sticking to the game plan,” she said. “We stayed patient. ... We scored last, literally four seconds, and mistakes are bound to happen. I mean, we had full respect for them, for UNC going into the game, and we knew they were going to test us. They did, but it’s just how you respond to that.”
The Tar Heels had more scoring chances throughout the game with 16 shots, including two corners and nine shots on goal, but were unable to find the back of the net despite more quality chances.
Bella Devey finally broke the scoreless tie in the 82nd minute off an assist from Riley Kennedy, setting the stage for the Horned Frogs’ late heroics.
This story was originally published November 24, 2025 at 4:20 PM.
