Greason's First Big 12 Goal Helps Texas Tech to 1-1 Draw with No. 17 TCU
In front of more than 1,700 on a typical Friday Night under the lights at the John Walker Soccer Complex, No. 9/11 Texas Tech and No. 15/17 TCU battled to a 1–1 draw. The Red Raiders struck first behind a highlight-reel goal from true freshman Raleigh Greason in the 24th minute before the Horned Frogs equalized in the second half.
“It was a really even game between two top teams,” Texas Tech head coach Tom Stone said. “There was a ton of quality on the field and both sides had their moments. I thought our effort and composure were excellent, we just couldn’t quite find that second goal.”
The draw keeps Texas Tech in the thick of the Big 12 title race, now sitting second in the standings at 4–0–2 in conference play and 10–1–2 overall, just one point behind Baylor (5–1) following the Bears’ Friday win over BYU. Texas Tech does hold a win over No. 14 Baylor 1-0 in Waco on September 19.
Texas Tech Stat Leaders
Raleigh Greason – 3 shots, 3 shots on goal, 1 goal, 59 minutes
Peyton Parsons – 4 shots, 1 shot on goal, 87 minutes
Taylor Zdrojewski – 5 shots, 73 minutes
How It Happened
Texas Tech brought early energy to a lively home crowd and wasted little time generating chances. True freshman Raleigh Greason opened the scoring midway through the first half, unleashing a left-footed strike from distance that soared into the top-left corner – her second career goal and first in Big 12 play.
“I’ve gotten those chances the past few games,” Greason said. “The coaches keep telling me I’m in the right spot, it’s coming. So when it came back out to me, I just hit it left-footed. That’s what I’ve been working on in practice.”
The Red Raiders kept pushing, feeding off the momentum of senior midfielder Molly Skurcenski who made her presence felt in all phases of the game. Breaking up TCU attacks on one end then carrying it forward to start an attack for Texas Tech on the other, she even contributed a shot on goal late to force a TCU save.
“Molly was everywhere,” Stone said. “She’s a crucial cog in our defending and our attacking, and not many players can say that. Unbelievably fit, great mentality, and so fast. Her ability to carry the ball through traffic and come out the other side, she was brilliant tonight.”
She’s also been one of the most versatile players on the team over the years. Having played in multiple spots throughout her career, always going where needed, she has once again stepped into the midfield this year after injuries took out two starters there. Centerback is her first love so to speak but Coach Stone has many times noted Skurcenski is one of the better holding mids in the country and she showed it in this one.
“It’s my senior year so I’m just super excited to spend this last year with my teammates. I’ve played holding mid now two years, center back two years so it’s wherever. It’s been really fun playing with Kate too in the midfield. I obviously miss playing center back a little bit but I think midfield definitely gives me some more flexibility and gives me a chance to move up the field which is also great.”
Despite Tech controlling much of the chances and outshooting TCU 15-5, the Horned Frogs did lead in one stat… corner kicks. Of which would eventually be what led to their goal when TCU equalized early in the second half on a Morgan Brown header off a corner. Such a well executed shot even Skurcenski could just tip her cap to it.
“I’ll give it to her, that was a hell of a header,” Skurcenski said. “She’s six foot, that’s what she does. Kylie [Bahr] defended her great all game. It was just an unlucky play.”
The Red Raiders nearly reclaimed the lead late when senior captain Peyton Parsons blasted a shot from outside the box that clanged off the crossbar with four minutes to play. Parsons flashed all night, both in attack but also shutting down very dangerous chances from TCU in their final third.
“Peyton created most of the good chances we had,” Stone said. “She was devastating on the dribble. Her 1-v-1 defending was spectacular. She’s a fourth-year senior playing at the top of her game.”
In a game that had a postseason feel to it both on and off the field, Coach Stone was happy with his team’s effort and feels like they are in a good spot as they continue to grow into playing their best soccer by November.
“That’s a tough team to play against,” he said. “They make you chase it, but we were willing to do the work. We were really dangerous going forward and probably should have come away with more from a production standpoint. Either one of us could have won it late, it was kind of a classic matchup of two teams playing really well right now.”
Next Up: On the Road at Arizona State 10/16
Texas Tech heads back on the road for three in a row starting with Arizona State on Thursday. The Sun Devils are coming off a 2-0 loss to No. 24 Colorado on Friday.
“We’re excited, we’re a little angry,” said freshman Greason on the team’s mindset heading into this roadtrip. “Proud of ourselves but we knew we could’ve maybe given a little more. We should’ve won. So we’re going out on the road, three big games ahead, winning those three and coming back and winning the rest. We’re in the middle of the Big 12, so we have time and right now we’re looking really good and we have so much more time to grow.”
First touch at 9 pm CT / 7 pm PT in Tempe, Arizona. Game will be streamed on ESPN+.
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