Baylor Soccer Drops Big 12 Opener to No. 15 Oklahoma State, 1-0

WACO, Texas — Baylor Soccer (5-3) dropped its Big 12 opener to No. 15 Oklahoma State (7-0-1) by a single, first-half goal, 1-0.

It was a largely disappointing performance for the Bears with the Cowgirls dominating possession and the Green and Gold not finishing the good chances they created.

Baylor Head Coach Michelle Lenard summed it up like this after the game:

“It's one thing to lose. We can handle losing. Sometimes that happens, even if you play well, but we're just incredibly disappointed with our performance. We're capable of a lot more.”

The Bears did seem to start on the front foot with freshman forward Alysiah Lockette winning one-on-one after one-on-one along the right wing. She created chances like junior midfielder Hannah Augustyn’s sliding attempt in the OSU six-yard box in the eighth minute. That shot was blocked by a sliding cowgirl defender immediately after it left Augustyn’s foot. 

Lockette put her own shot on goal five minutes later requiring the Cowgirls’ keeper to do the splits to make a foot-save.

Then, in the 19th minute, the decisive mistake was made. Hannah Augustyn misjudged an OSU corner and the ball fell to a Cowgirl at the edge of the six-yard box. The Poke fired it into the roof of the net for a 1-0 lead.

Senior goalkeeper Azul Alvarez and the defense did well for the rest of the half putting out fires and stopping OSU chances. However, the Baylor offense just could not get more shots on goal. 

The common figures in the attack like Tyler Isgrig, Ashley Merrill and Theresa McCullough found some good spots throughout the rest of the game, but most shots were blocked or missed with crosses struggling to find Baylor’s runners.

The second half is when the Cowgirls took more control of the game and really limited the Bears’ possession. 

It took until the last ten minutes of the game to produce some very clear goal-scoring chances, specifically, Ashley Merrill knocking a ball over the top from Kai Hayes down toward Hannah Augustyn. Augustyn’s shot sailed over the crossbar and the scoreline stayed 1-0 Oklahoma State.

“There's not much good it came out of this game, other than maybe a swift kick in the rear that we needed,” said Coach Lenard, “It's a hard lesson … Champions respond, you know, they bounced back. They turn the page.”

The disappointment with which Coach Lenard took this loss makes it clear that she did not just happen to use the word “champions” as a cliche. The head coach has a great belief that this team can be in the thick of that race this season.

One thing to monitor with that goal in mind is the health of the goalkeeper Alvarez who had to be subbed out of the game early in the second half after taking a shin to the head. 

Both Coach Lenard and teammate Tyler Isgrig feel confident in Alvarez’s resilience though. So with Sunday’s matchup being non-Big 12 foe Texas State, things look alright in the big picture.

Whether it’s Alvarez or very capable backup Ashlee Zirkel in goal for the Bears, the expectations will remain high. That is the standard they have set for themselves through the spring and so far this season.

“I don't know if I'd say we're expected to win against them,” said Coach Lenard, “But we certainly expect a lot more out of ourselves than that. So it's painful. The girls are feeling it. We're all feeling it.”

The Green and Gold have a great opportunity to get back on track fast this Sunday at 7 PM with Texas State coming to Waco. The Bobcats notably are the one blemish on the Oklahoma State record, tying the Cowgirls 0-0 earlier this year.