Baylor Soccer dominates exhibition match against A&M Corpus Christi
Baylor Soccer won their first game back in action for the 2021 season 5-0. The Bears were physically and technically superior to the Corpus Christi Islanders, and they won almost every 50/50 ball with their speed and strength.
The game was played in three 30-minute periods with a 10-minute break in between for coaching and coping with the heat.
The Bears showed great awareness on the field playing out of pressure, especially sophomore midfielder Gabby Mueller. She ended the night with a goal and a handful of chances created for her teammates.
Despite their best efforts, the Bears failed to convert any of their chances in the first 30-minute period of the game. They missed all 9 of their shots with only a few being on goal, including a header off the crossbar by senior forward Taylor Moon.
However, the floodgates opened in the second period with a beautiful cross from senior Kayley Ables headed home by junior midfielder Maddie Algya. The cross was whipped in from the left side of the box after a period of sustained pressure from Baylor.
After that, Moon, a preseason All-Big 12 forward, took over. After a sneaky backheel to spring Mueller onto goal, the leading scorer from last year’s team cleaned up the rebound to put Baylor up 2-0.
Moon struck again a few minutes later on a counterattack with an assist from freshman winger Sophie Wilson. Wilson and Moon were wreaking havoc on Corpus Christi’s right side throughout the second period with some crisp give-and-goes.
Moon finished off her hattrick with a nice shot from the top of the 18-yard box later in the second thanks to some sloppy passing from the Islanders.
By the end of the period, the Bears had out-shot the Islanders 20-1 and won 6 corners to their 0.
Baylor’s fifth and final goal for the night was Gabby Mueller’s. She capped off her stellar performance with a clean and composed finish.
Overall, the Bears were the stronger and faster team, but most importantly they showed it from the start. All three goalies on the roster got time between the pipes and 21 of 27 players saw the field tonight.
When asked about getting back on the field this year, head coach Paul Jobson said “I’ve been really proud; this is day 10 of preseason. The thing I’ve been most impressed with this group is that our intensity level through preseason has been very consistent. I’ve always said if that can be our base, we can build anything off of that.”
He also had high praise for the freshman on the team.
“Haven Terry, as a freshman creating those types of opportunities, she’s going to score a lot of goals.”
“Haven, Sophie [Wilson], Kate [Zimmerman], and Ava [Colberg] got a lot of minutes, and if they keep performing the way they are they will earn a lot of minutes. We don’t have a huge bench and if you can rely on your youngsters like that it’s helpful.”
When asked for his highlight of the night, Jobson said “I think just being able to put the ball in the back of the net. Usually, we say ‘well it’ll come’ but to have it fall this early, I think that’s our best highlight.”
Woman of the Match (WOTM): Taylor Moon – It’s tough not to give it to someone with a hattrick. A lot of Bears played great tonight but 3 goals are 3 goals.
Up Next: @Texas A&M (Sun. 8/15 7PM) - Exhibition