TCU women’s soccer can’t conjure late magic again, falls in national semifinals — PHOTOS
En route to its first College Cup berth, TCU women’s soccer earned the “Cardiac Frogs” moniker for good reason. On Friday, it nearly conjured that late magic yet again.
Down 1-0 late to Florida State, TCU senior forward Seven Castain found herself one-on-one with Florida State goalkeeper Kate Ockene as the clock ticked down in the final five seconds of the match.
Castain’s shot was saved, though, and the clock ran out on TCU’s magical run to the national semifinals.
Florida State’s Wrianna Hudson scored in the 73rd minute — the game’s lone goal — and No. 3-seeded Florida State (15-2-4) defeated No. 2 TCU (18-3-3) 1-0 at CPKC Stadium to advance to the national championship match Monday night against the winner of Friday’s late game between No. 1 Stanford and No. 2 Duke.
TCU head coach Eric Bell, in his 14th year, said he was proud of the Horned Frogs’ fight to the end. This was the furthest the program had ever advanced.
“We’ve never been to the College Cup [before], and now that is the new standard,” Bell said. “That’s what we’ll be shooting for moving forward on a regular basis.”
Castain and fellow senior Grace Coppinger wore the emotions of the heartbreaking loss on their faces.
“I’m obviously disappointed,” Castain said. “But it’s unbelievable to be part of the first team to make it to the College Cup. The only thing I can say is that I’m incredibly grateful to be here.”
TCU got late equalizers in its previous two matches — with four seconds left against North Carolina and with about four minutes left against Vanderbilt — then prevailed in extra time. Those wins gave the Horned Frogs the belief that they’d at least get a chance at the end Friday.
It was Castain who earned that chance, poking it around a Florida State defender before the angle got closed down.
“All it takes is a second to score a goal,” Castain said. “You just have to have the belief.”
Her chance came with mere seconds left.
“I saw the ball come in, and I was like, ‘I’m gonna do everything I can to put this on frame,’” Castain said. “The keeper made a great save. There’s not much more I could do there. But we just never give up. It’s a hard quality to find.”
Florida State had the better of the chances throughout the match. Sophomore goalkeeper Olivia Geller kept TCU in the match, making seven saves, none bigger than stonewalling Florida State forward Taylor Suarez one-on-one in the second half.
The Horned Frogs even had a chance to take the lead. Freshman forward Grace Vest forced Florida State’s goalkeeper into a mistake, leaving a wide-open net and an opportunity for Castain, but her shot went wide.
Just minutes later, Peyton McGovern sent in a perfectly weighted cross to the back post, where Hudson tapped home the lone goal.
TCU did have a chance to equalize shortly after. A goal-bound shot was blocked by the outstretched arm of Florida State defender Heather Gilchrist. Despite going to the monitor, referee Amin Hadzic ruled it not a handball offense, and no penalty kick for the Horned Frogs.
Bell said the explanation he received from the referee was that the ball came off the defender’s body before hitting her outstretched arm. He declined to say whether he agreed with that assessment.
The crowd was certainly pro-TCU. It didn’t go unnoticed by players, including Coppinger, a Kansas City native.
“The TCU community is unbeatable,” Coppinger said. “Honestly, it’s everywhere. We’ve just been so welcome since we’ve been here, and it honestly felt like we were at home. That’s how many fans we had.”
“TCU is a soccer school now,” Bell added.
This story was originally published December 5, 2025 at 7:33 PM.