KANSAS CITY, Mo. – No. 4 seed BYU grabbed a 1-0 first half lead against top-seeded TCU in the Big 12 semifinals on Wednesday and had all the momentum.

But the Horned Frogs blitzed the Cougars for two quick goals late in the first half and held on in the second for the 2-1 victory to advance to the finals on Saturday.

With just under six minutes remaining in the first half, TCU drove the ball up the right side of the pitch and sent a cross into the box to find the foot of Caroline Kelly to tie the score at 1-1.

Less than a minute later, the Horned Frogs sent another ball from the right side of the pitch and found Seven Castain, who fired off a shot past goalkeeper Lynette Hernaez to take a 2-1 lead.

Scoring her second goal of the tournament, BYU junior Mackenzee Vance tallied her seventh goal of the year against TCU for the 1-0 first half lead..

In a physical matchup, four yellow cards were awarded, three to BYU players. 18 total fouls were called during the game.

The Horned Frogs outshot the Cougars 12-9, with six on target compared to BYU’s five. TCU also held the advantage in corner kicks with six to BYU’s three.The teams went back and forth to start the match, with BYU’s Lucy Kesler taking the first shot in the second minute from deep, missing wide right.

TCU’s first chance on goal came in the ninth minute with a corner kick, volleyed right into the arms of Hernaez.

In the 13th minute, Presley Freeman and Mika Krommenhoek moved the ball up the right side of the pitch, finding the feet of Allie Fryer. She dribbled to the top of the 18 and fired off a shot, missing just outside the left goal post.

After a yellow card was issued to BYU’s Avery Frischknecht, the Horned Frogs had a free kick just outside the 18-yard box, punched away by Hernaez. The Cougars countered with back-to-back corner kicks, both cleared out by the TCU backline.

In the 20th minute, Gardner beat her defender to feed a through ball to Krommenhoek, who crossed it into the box. The ball ricocheted off a TCU defender and Vance stepped up and put it into the far right corner, putting the Cougars up 1-0.

The Horned Frogs held the 2-1 advantage heading into halftime, with eight shots to BYU’s seven. Both goalkeepers tallied two saves through the first 45 minutes on the pitch.Vance had the first shot of the second half from well outside the 18, collected by the TCU goalkeeper.

The Horned Frogs held a majority of the possession for the next 15 minutes, but the Cougar backline held firm, allowing just one shot.

In the 63rd minute, Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year Bella Diorio had a one-on-one opportunity on goal, but Hernaez came off her line to make the save for the Cougars.

BYU began to put the pressure on TCU with 20 minutes remaining in the match as Freeman sent a ball into the box that bounced around with a few attempts on goal from Fryer and Erin Bailey before being cleared out.

The Cougars held their pressure on TCU’s defense, keeping the ball in their offensive third for the next 10 minutes.

Despite a final push by the Cougar offense and a shot by Krommenhoek in the final seconds, TCU held the 2-1 advantage, advancing to the championship match to be played Saturday evening.

BYU now awaits seeding in the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA selection show will be on Monday, Nov 11 at 2 p.m. MT.

UVU women’s soccer falls in WAC semifinals

ABILENE, Texas — The top-seeded Utah Valley women’s soccer team led No. 4 Cal Baptist 2-1 with just 23 minutes left in the second half of its Western Athletic Conference semifinal on Wednesday, but things went very wrong from there.

California Baptist responded with a stunning comeback, scoring three times with goals in the 67th, 78th, and 88th minutes to take the 3-2 win.

The loss ended UVU’s 10-match unbeaten streak, leaving the Wolverines with a 12-5-2 record on the season. It was a disappointing end to a historic season for UVU, who went unbeaten in WAC play (6-0-1) and claimed a third consecutive WAC regular-season championship.

Utah Valley opened the scoring in the 14th minute when Ruby Hladek fired a shot from just outside the box, sending it into the net for a 1-0 lead. Greta Davis then delivered a cross into the box in the 36th minute, where Quincy Bonds headed it home, giving the Wolverines a 2-0 advantage at halftime.

However, Faith Weber, Bonds and Hladek each registered two shots for UVU, while CJ Graham recorded two saves in goal.

California Baptist advances to Saturday’s championship match, where they will face the winner of the other semifinal between No. 2 Grand Canyon and No. 3 Seattle U.