Green and gold net golden goal, top SMU in overtime 2-1
Without two typical starters and having lost two of their first three games, tonight's match against SMU felt like an important one for the Bears.
Neither team looked overmatched, but SMU was consistently sharper in their attacks. They found more threatening positions and caused more scrambles from Sarah Norman and Kayley Ables than Mack Anthony and co. were able to return in the first half.
The Bears started the game in more of a 4-2-4 formation rather than their typical 4-3-3 which seemed to contribute to the issues corralling Mustangs star midfielder Wayny Balata (#10).
In the 10th minute, the Bears won a corner on SMU’s left side. Ally Henderson-Ashkinos sent a gorgeous ball into the box and Mack Anthony caught it perfectly for the opening goal.
It was Anthony’s second goal of the year, after scoring against North Dakota State.
Not even two minutes later Balata found herself on the right edge of Baylor’s 18-yard box with time to loft in a cross. Elisabeth Tse (#8) directed it home and leveled the score at 1-1.
There was nothing Wandt could really do with the ball going over her head and crossing her body.
For the rest of the half Baylor looked a step slower than SMU and had a tougher time keeping possession. In his postmatch interview coach Paul Jobson said, “We felt like they were having their way with us a little bit. Because of our tired legs and fatigue we weren’t able to step to them fast enough…”
Baylor did have the disadvantage of playing a very rough game on Thursday while SMU had not played in a week.
The Bears were not completely outshone in the first half though. They outshot the Mustangs 6-3 and made their way closer to goal before pulling the trigger, improving on a note made by both coach Jobson and Gabby Mueller after the Nebraska match.
With around ten minutes left in the half, coach Jobson subbed Lorelai Stramrood in for Taylor Moon to return to their typical formation and balance. Moon would not return to the game.
Balata continued to orchestrate the attack for the Mustangs and she did not seem phased by the Baylor defense at all. However, the Mustangs could not get another past Wandt and the half ended 1-1.
In the second half, Baylor came out with a different tactical setup. They pushed Sarah Hornyak into midfield and played more of a 3-4-3.
The formation pushed more Bears into the attack, and coach Jobson said, "we just eliminated the space and went man-to-man almost. We knew we’d be a little bit vulnerable over the top. We had faith in our backs… It shifted the momentum for us.”
The fatigue factor still favored SMU for the majority of the half but Baylor did a better job creating scoring chances.
Elizabeth Kooiman ran rampant down the left wing and substitute Sophie Wilson had some nice passages of play on the right side.
The tactical shift did allow SMU some counter-attack chances, but Baylor keeper Jennifer Wandt had her team’s back and snuffed out every last one of them.
When asked about facing 1-on-1 situations Wandt said, “I just like to make myself big so I can be there for the team like they are there for me the whole game.”
Baylor kept coming closer with Haven Terry and Kooiman putting in dangerous crosses just barely out of reach for Mack Anthony.
“I thought we did a good job of getting to the end line and creating some good opportunities,” coach Jobson said, "Especially at the end of the game we were getting balls across the face of the box, we just couldn’t get a toe-poke. That’s all we needed was a toe-poke. I thought we did a much better job keeping the ball and waiting till we had better opportunities.”
As time ran out on regulation, SMU’s energy level sank below Baylor’s. When overtime started, you could feel that Baylor would be on the front foot and pressing the Mustangs.
With action going from end to end, both sides had decent chances to end the game. However, Baylor was much better in possession and SMU was relegated to taking breakaway chances.
Then as the first of two planned overtime periods was winding down, an SMU player went down with cramps. This allowed Baylor to push forward as they were going to be given an uncontested drop ball.
With essentially a free-kick, Jennifer Wandt stepped up to midfield to boot the ball into SMU’s box.
It was a mad scramble to get on the end of the ball and substitute midfielder Lorelai Stramrood nodded it along. Somehow Haven Terry managed to poke it into the goal as the Mustangs’ goalie came crashing into the crowd of attackers.
Terry said after the game, “I don’t even know what I hit it with.”
The Bears’ bench cleared and dogpiled on the freshman forward as the goal ended the sudden-death period and lifted Baylor to a 2-1 victory.
When asked about the goal after the game, Terry said, “It feels really good especially because of the circumstances. The celebration made it fun too. It was completely dark within seconds. I saw nothing.”
As a team, overcoming injuries and fatigue Wandt added, “Overtime wins are always tough but they are extra rewarding. We were able to dig it out for ninety plus. We train that in practice. We’re prepared for that…we felt like we had the upper hand when it came to that.”
It feels as though Baylor needed this win. Given the physically demanding slate of games they have played and the injuries they have sustained, the victory should help keep the mood bright at practice moving forward.
Overall, coach Jobson said, "I don’t think it was our best game. We fought through a ton of fatigue… but we showed that we had a ton of resilience towards the end of the match.”
WotM: Jennifer Wandt - She made a lot of big saves to keep things knotted at 1-1 and she delivered the ball that Terry put home for the win.
Up Next: @ North Texas (Thu. 9/2 7PM)