Texas Tech University Athletics
Friday, November 17
Lubbock, Texas
6 p.m.
Texas Tech Athletics
vs
No. 7 Princeton
Second-seeded Tech ready for NCAA Second Round
November 16, 2023 | Women's Soccer
The Red Raiders will play host to Princeton Friday; would host UNC/Alabama on Sunday with a win
LUBBOCK, Texas – In what shapes up to be one of the biggest home weekends in program history and by virtue of its second-seed, the Texas Tech Red Raider Soccer program will welcome seventh-seeded Princeton on Friday night for a 6 p.m. contest as part of the Lubbock portion of the Second Round of the 2023 NCAA Soccer Championships.
The massive day begins at 2:30 p.m. when 2022 College Cup participants Alabama and North Carolina will face off for a trip to Sunday's Third Round (Round of 16).
The winner of UNC/Bama and Tech/Princeton will also meet in Lubbock, this time at 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.
Fresh off a strong season that included the first Big 12 title in program history, Texas Tech is hosting the second and third rounds of the NCAA Soccer Championship for the first time in program history.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
MATCHUP: No. 2 Texas Tech (16-1-4) vs. No. 7 Princeton (10-5-3)
DATE: Friday, November 16, 2023
TIME: 6 p.m.
LOCATION: Lubbock, Texas (John Walker Soccer Complex)
LAST TIME OUT:
Well it was worth the wait.
In the highly anticipated (first time since 2019) return of NCAA postseason soccer to the John Walker Soccer Complex, second seeded Texas Tech downed the FGCU Eagles, 1-0 on Friday night in front of a raucous crowd of over 1800.
Powered by a pair of world class passes from Peyton Parsons and Giselle Kozarski and a magical finish by Alex Kerr, the second-seeded Red Raiders (16-1-4) will move on to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament where the seventh-seeded Princeton Tigers will await one week from tonight (Nov. 17).
In what could be described as simply sensational, it was the moment of brilliance from Kozarski and Kerr in particular, that pushed the Red Raiders into the second round for the fourth time in program history.
After a beautiful run and feed from reserve Parsons, Kozarski trapped the pass and chipped a perfect ball to a streaking Kerr, who let it bounce twice, before ripping a right-footed shot into the upper right-hand corner for the long awaited first goal of the match.
The strike was Kerr's 11th goal of the season and came four seconds in the 74th minute. After scoring just 12 goals in four seasons at Vanderbilt, the graduated transfer has now scored 11 in just 21 matches as a Red Raider.
It was a frustrating night at times for Kerr and the Red Raiders, as Tech outshot FGCU (12-5-5) 26-6 overall, including a dominate 9-0 stretch over the first 10 minutes of the second half.
Much like the first over 70 minutes of the match, that stretch, despite the relentless pressure, did not result in goal.
In the end, the Red Raiders placed nine of those 26 shots on frame, as the Eagles true freshman goalkeeper Olivia Molina turned in an eight save performance that included countless key stops.
From the opening minutes, Tech was the more aggressive and dominate team as the Red Raiders tallied almost 70 percent possession in the contest.
Heading to the locker room locked in a scoreless battle, the Red Raiders erupted in the second half, outshooting the Eagles 18-2 in the final 45.
The latter of those two offensive chances for FGCU came on a Kendall Gargiula shot that bounded off the post and safely over the touchline for a Madison White goal kick.
White was forced to make just one save in her 12th clean sheet of the season.
With the shutout, White moved into solo fourth place on the single season shutout list and now has recorded a program-record 38 clean sheets.
QUICK KICKS:
• The Texas Tech Red Raiders host the Second and Third Round of the NCAA Tournament this Friday and Sunday as Alabama, North Carolina and Princeton will all visit Lubbock. The sixth-seeded Crimson Tide and third-seeded Tar Heels will battle at 2:30 p.m. (CT) with the winner advancing to the Third Round against the winner of Tech and Princeton later Friday. The 2023 season marks the first time in Tech's history that the Red Raiders will host the Second and Third Round of the NCAA Tournament.
• This week's field is absolutely loaded and features two of the four teams from the 2022 College Cup. Alabama fell in the semifinals of the College Cup last season 3-0 to UCLA, while UNC fell to the same Bruin squad in the National Championship match, 3-2 in 2OT.
• All three teams that will head to Lubbock advanced to Friday's Second Round after home victories in the opening round. Like Tech, Princeton advanced with a 1-0 win, defeating Michigan a week ago. The Tar Heels overcame an early 1-0 deficit to down Towson 3-1, while Alabama used a pair of goals to shutout Western Carolina.
• The Red Raiders by virtue of Friday's 1-0 win over a very game Florida Gulf Coast squad, improved to 6-0-1 all-time in postseason matches at Walker. The lone "Draw" came back in 2019 when Tech downed Pepperdine in PKs.
• Last Friday's match featured an announced attendance mark of 1,810, the second-largest NCAA postseason crowd in program history (2015, UNT, 1817). The Red Raiders announced attendance was ninth in the country for Round One and was better than crowds from schools like No. 1 Florida State, No. 1 Clemson and No. 3 Notre Dame.
• With a victory, the Red Raiders could advance to the Third Round of the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in program history. During the 2014 season Tech lost a heartbreaking 3-2 match at No. 2 Florida in the Round of 16.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS:
• The Tigers enter Friday's matchup with a record of 10-5-3 overall and an Ivy League record of 4-2-1. Princeton has played a pair of Power Five teams this season, losing at Penn State (Sept. 7) 3-0, before downing Michigan 1-0 in the First Round last week. The Tigers are one of four NCAA Tournament teams to come from the Ivy this season, joining Brown, Harvard and Columbia. All four Ivy league teams won in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
• Princeton opened the season unbeaten over the first four matches. That stretch included a home draw over NCAA participant Rutgers (0-0). The Tigers went 1-4-2 this year against NCAA Tournament teams this season, falling to Penn State (3-0), Brown (2-1), Columbia (1-0) and Harvard (4-2). The Tigers drew Harvard 1-1 and Rutgers 0-0, during the regular season.
• As a team, Princeton has scored 35 goals this season and has outscored opponents 35-23 overall. Overall, 12 of those 35 goals have come from Pietra Tordin who has also added six assists in 17 games played. Tordin is a 5-6 forward from Florida and was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 2022 and was a third team All-Region selection. Tordin has a career game against Army West Point as the forward scored four times and tallied 10 shots. On the season Tordin has 75 total shots as Princeton is 7-0 when she scores in a match this season. Tordin and fellow Floridian Lexi Hiltunen have combined to score 18 goals as Hiltunen has added six goals of her own.
• In goal, Princeton has turned to mostly Tyler McCamey who has allowed just 22 goals in 18 matches. McCamey's GAA sits at 1.26 this season as she has made 50 total saves this season and has recorded five shutouts.
UP NEXT:
Regardless of what happens on Friday, Texas Tech will be the host site for Sunday's Third Round that will feature the two winners of Friday's matches. First-kick from the John Walker Soccer Complex is set for 1 p.m.
The massive day begins at 2:30 p.m. when 2022 College Cup participants Alabama and North Carolina will face off for a trip to Sunday's Third Round (Round of 16).
The winner of UNC/Bama and Tech/Princeton will also meet in Lubbock, this time at 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.
Fresh off a strong season that included the first Big 12 title in program history, Texas Tech is hosting the second and third rounds of the NCAA Soccer Championship for the first time in program history.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
MATCHUP: No. 2 Texas Tech (16-1-4) vs. No. 7 Princeton (10-5-3)
DATE: Friday, November 16, 2023
TIME: 6 p.m.
LOCATION: Lubbock, Texas (John Walker Soccer Complex)
LAST TIME OUT:
Well it was worth the wait.
In the highly anticipated (first time since 2019) return of NCAA postseason soccer to the John Walker Soccer Complex, second seeded Texas Tech downed the FGCU Eagles, 1-0 on Friday night in front of a raucous crowd of over 1800.
Powered by a pair of world class passes from Peyton Parsons and Giselle Kozarski and a magical finish by Alex Kerr, the second-seeded Red Raiders (16-1-4) will move on to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament where the seventh-seeded Princeton Tigers will await one week from tonight (Nov. 17).
In what could be described as simply sensational, it was the moment of brilliance from Kozarski and Kerr in particular, that pushed the Red Raiders into the second round for the fourth time in program history.
After a beautiful run and feed from reserve Parsons, Kozarski trapped the pass and chipped a perfect ball to a streaking Kerr, who let it bounce twice, before ripping a right-footed shot into the upper right-hand corner for the long awaited first goal of the match.
The strike was Kerr's 11th goal of the season and came four seconds in the 74th minute. After scoring just 12 goals in four seasons at Vanderbilt, the graduated transfer has now scored 11 in just 21 matches as a Red Raider.
It was a frustrating night at times for Kerr and the Red Raiders, as Tech outshot FGCU (12-5-5) 26-6 overall, including a dominate 9-0 stretch over the first 10 minutes of the second half.
Much like the first over 70 minutes of the match, that stretch, despite the relentless pressure, did not result in goal.
In the end, the Red Raiders placed nine of those 26 shots on frame, as the Eagles true freshman goalkeeper Olivia Molina turned in an eight save performance that included countless key stops.
From the opening minutes, Tech was the more aggressive and dominate team as the Red Raiders tallied almost 70 percent possession in the contest.
Heading to the locker room locked in a scoreless battle, the Red Raiders erupted in the second half, outshooting the Eagles 18-2 in the final 45.
The latter of those two offensive chances for FGCU came on a Kendall Gargiula shot that bounded off the post and safely over the touchline for a Madison White goal kick.
White was forced to make just one save in her 12th clean sheet of the season.
With the shutout, White moved into solo fourth place on the single season shutout list and now has recorded a program-record 38 clean sheets.
QUICK KICKS:
• The Texas Tech Red Raiders host the Second and Third Round of the NCAA Tournament this Friday and Sunday as Alabama, North Carolina and Princeton will all visit Lubbock. The sixth-seeded Crimson Tide and third-seeded Tar Heels will battle at 2:30 p.m. (CT) with the winner advancing to the Third Round against the winner of Tech and Princeton later Friday. The 2023 season marks the first time in Tech's history that the Red Raiders will host the Second and Third Round of the NCAA Tournament.
• This week's field is absolutely loaded and features two of the four teams from the 2022 College Cup. Alabama fell in the semifinals of the College Cup last season 3-0 to UCLA, while UNC fell to the same Bruin squad in the National Championship match, 3-2 in 2OT.
• All three teams that will head to Lubbock advanced to Friday's Second Round after home victories in the opening round. Like Tech, Princeton advanced with a 1-0 win, defeating Michigan a week ago. The Tar Heels overcame an early 1-0 deficit to down Towson 3-1, while Alabama used a pair of goals to shutout Western Carolina.
• The Red Raiders by virtue of Friday's 1-0 win over a very game Florida Gulf Coast squad, improved to 6-0-1 all-time in postseason matches at Walker. The lone "Draw" came back in 2019 when Tech downed Pepperdine in PKs.
• Last Friday's match featured an announced attendance mark of 1,810, the second-largest NCAA postseason crowd in program history (2015, UNT, 1817). The Red Raiders announced attendance was ninth in the country for Round One and was better than crowds from schools like No. 1 Florida State, No. 1 Clemson and No. 3 Notre Dame.
• With a victory, the Red Raiders could advance to the Third Round of the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in program history. During the 2014 season Tech lost a heartbreaking 3-2 match at No. 2 Florida in the Round of 16.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS:
• The Tigers enter Friday's matchup with a record of 10-5-3 overall and an Ivy League record of 4-2-1. Princeton has played a pair of Power Five teams this season, losing at Penn State (Sept. 7) 3-0, before downing Michigan 1-0 in the First Round last week. The Tigers are one of four NCAA Tournament teams to come from the Ivy this season, joining Brown, Harvard and Columbia. All four Ivy league teams won in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
• Princeton opened the season unbeaten over the first four matches. That stretch included a home draw over NCAA participant Rutgers (0-0). The Tigers went 1-4-2 this year against NCAA Tournament teams this season, falling to Penn State (3-0), Brown (2-1), Columbia (1-0) and Harvard (4-2). The Tigers drew Harvard 1-1 and Rutgers 0-0, during the regular season.
• As a team, Princeton has scored 35 goals this season and has outscored opponents 35-23 overall. Overall, 12 of those 35 goals have come from Pietra Tordin who has also added six assists in 17 games played. Tordin is a 5-6 forward from Florida and was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 2022 and was a third team All-Region selection. Tordin has a career game against Army West Point as the forward scored four times and tallied 10 shots. On the season Tordin has 75 total shots as Princeton is 7-0 when she scores in a match this season. Tordin and fellow Floridian Lexi Hiltunen have combined to score 18 goals as Hiltunen has added six goals of her own.
• In goal, Princeton has turned to mostly Tyler McCamey who has allowed just 22 goals in 18 matches. McCamey's GAA sits at 1.26 this season as she has made 50 total saves this season and has recorded five shutouts.
UP NEXT:
Regardless of what happens on Friday, Texas Tech will be the host site for Sunday's Third Round that will feature the two winners of Friday's matches. First-kick from the John Walker Soccer Complex is set for 1 p.m.
Players Mentioned
Forward/Midfielder
/ Women's Soccer
Goalkeeper
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