Baylor Soccer Stomps Iowa State 4-2

WACO, Texas — Baylor Soccer (7-5-2, 2-3-1) topped Iowa State 4-9-1 (1-5-0) by a score of 4-2 to take another significant step toward making the Big 12 tournament.

Tyler Isgrig had a stellar night for the Bears scoring two beautiful goals and assisting on a third. Ashley Merrill was the beneficiary and calm finisher of Isgirg’s assist while the Bears opener was netted by freshman and Manchester, UK native Salma Simonin.

Baylor got off to an energetic start creating a flurry of chances in the first ten minutes that Iowa State was fortunate to not concede from. 

Those opportunities seemed to be of a different nature than most Baylor scoring chances this year to date. The Bears forced the issue on the Cyclones and asked questions with their passes, movement and urgency that they had not truly asked yet this season.

“We’ve been working on it all week,” said Baylor head coach Michelle Lenard, “Really trying to get the ball into the box. And I think you could see that early on.”

Baylor would concede the first goal though thanks in large part to Iowa State ramping up the pressure over the next ten minutes of game time. The Bears struggled to build out from the back and it cost them.

Salome Prat drove in from the left wing for the Cyclones and lashed a shot toward the bottom left of Baylor’s goal. The combination of pace and placement beat Ashlee Zirkel and the visitors led. 1-0.

Coach Lenard never lost confidence in her squad though.

“Even when they scored I felt like it was just a matter of time before we were going to score.”

And it took less than three minutes for Isgrig and the Bears to respond. The sophomore transfer fought her way through some pressure on the left wing and worked her way into some space in the top left of the ISU box. She then perfectly placed her own shot into the bottom left corner of the Cyclones’ goal. 1-1.

With the score leveled, the Bears looked to tilt the field toward the ISU goal by ramping up the pressure. 

Blythe Obar did great work keeping Baylor’s possession alive and in the Iowa State half before Callie Conrad sent a dangerous lofted cross into the six-yard box.

The Cyclones’ keeper misjudged the ball a little and tried to swat it out of play over her own crossbar. This failed and the ball popped up a foot or two as the keeper fell, leaving an open goal for Salma Simonin to head the ball into. 2-1 Baylor.

Taking that one-goal lead into halftime, Coach Lenard emphasized to her team the importance of starting the second half quickly. Tyler Isgrig made sure of that.

Just 42 seconds into the second period, Isgrig worked herself some room to shoot barely inside of the top right corner of the ISU 18-yard box. That’s when she sent a spectacular dipping shot over and around the keeper and into the far corner of the ISU goal. 3-1.

“The next goal changes everything,” Coach Lenard said after the game, “We wanted to come with a lot of energy and try to score early… and what a spectacular goal from Tyler.”

Isgrig wouldn’t stop there though. With a half hour left to play, she drove in from midfield and found Ashley Merrill running free toward goal. Isgrig found her partner in crime between the top of the box and the penalty spot and — with chances like that — Merrill doesn’t often miss. 4-1.

The Cyclones would draw one goal back in the 83rd minute Salome Prat beat Zirkel yet again to the left corner, but Baylor would hold on to that 4-2 lead till the end.

Baylor now has seven points and currently sits in eighth place in the Big 12 standings. More results are likely needed to ensure tournament qualification, but the Bears are in a solid spot as they head off to Orlando for Sunday’s game.

WotM — Tyler Isgrig — Who else? 2 goals, 1 assist. She struck at the perfect moments too. Couldn’t have scripted it better.

Up Next — at UCF Sunday, October 8th at 12 Noon CST (ESPN+)