Big 12 Tournament matches feature great goals and a pair of upsets

#1 West Virginia 2, #8 TCU 1

The opening match of the 2014 Big 12 Soccer Championships featured defending champion, 9^th ranked nationally and number one seed West Virginia facing TCU, the only team they did not beat in conference play.

The Mountaineers started quickly, with a dangerous opportunity in the third minute when Cari Price launched a climbing shot that Vittoria Arnold had to deflect to the side.

TCU came on strong at the end of the first half but it was the Mountaineers that scored when , Leah Emaus finally put one past Arnold with just under two minutes left in the first.

While West Virginia control possession and dominated in shots, the Horned Frogs were able to force most of the shots to come from distance.

The Mountaineers doubled their total in the 67th minute when Michaela Abam finished giving Ashley Lawrence her second assist for the day.

TCU narrowed the gap when they were awarded a penalty kick after a player was taken down in the box. Bobbi Clemmer ticked it away in the 82nd minute.

The Mountaineers held on to advance to the semifinal on Friday.

#5 Texas 1, #4 Texas Tech 1 (Texas advances on PK's, 6-5)

Fourth seed Texas Tech Red Raiders and fifth seed Texas Longhorns was an evenly matched pair. Texas led in shots but the Red Raiders played a tight defense and countered well. It was fitting that it ended in a 1-1 draw that was decided by penalty kicks.

The Longhorns took the lead when a Red Raider foul was called well outside of the box. The initial shot was blocked but Chantale Campbell recovered the ball and drilled it home to take the lead.

The Red Raiders came out strong in the second half when Meagan McCullough picked up a loose ball and rocketed it home to even the match. Both teams created opportunities but as the end of the match and overtimes came and went, the two Texas teams prepared to go to penalties.

Despite missing their first opportunity, Texas prevailed through seven rounds to advance to the semifinals.

#7 Baylor 1, #2 Oklahoma State 0

The Baylor Bears and 2013 finalist Oklahoma State Cowgirls met in the third match of the day. Neither team was willing to sit back as they both came out attacking, combining for 19 shots and several good chances in the first half.

Baylor broke through in the 36th minute when the ball fell to Jordan Hatler in the box and she quickly turned on the ball and blasted it Cowgirl goalkeeper Rosa Medina.

The Cowgirls turned up the pressure in the second half but Baylor's defense stayed organized and turned away all thirteen shots to maintain the victory.

#6 Oklahoma 2, #3 Kansas 1

The Jayhawks were a vastly improved team from last year when they didn't make the tournament but had lost to the Sooners on Halloween to close out the season. The last match of the day had the same result as Oklahoma notched the second upset victory of the opening round when they beat 3^rd seed Kansas 2-1.

The Sooners grabbed the lead when Tori Bowman slotted the ball through traffic after a previous shot was stuffed in the 35^th minute.

The Jayhawks quickly responded six minutes later when KU's leading scorer Liana Salazar put one over the wall and just inside the post on a free kick to even it up.

Oklahoma took the lead for good when Madeline Brem collected a blocked shot and sent it past the Jayhawk keeper.

A few photos

Semifinals

The next round of matches are on Friday at Swope Soccer Village on the Championship Field.

West Virginia vs Texas 5:30

Baylor vs Oklahoma 8:00