Bears lock down Mean Green attack, cruise to 2-0 victory
Looking to capitalize on the positive momentum from the overtime win against SMU last Sunday, the Bears put on a dominant display in Denton Thursday night.
From the starting whistle, the green and gold bossed the midfield, shut down the Mean Green attack and found great shots for themselves at the other end.
Maddie Algya and Chloe Japic returned to the starting lineup to shore up the midfield and defense respectively.
Japic’s return also allowed Coach Paul Jobson to push Sarah Hornyak into the right forward role. Sarah Norman had filled in on the backline admirably over the homestand which gave Jobson the confidence to push the versatile Hornyak forward.
With Hornyak running hard down the right and Elizabeth Kooiman terrorizing the left wing, Mack Anthony found an abundance of opportunities through the middle.
Kooiman was a menace all night, with stepovers, cutbacks, or even stop and starts confusing the overmatched North Texas defenders. Coach Jobson said after the SMU game that she had broken out. Well tonight, Kooiman showed she’s not looking back.
A Kooiman cross in the 28th minute drew a handball from the UNT defender in the box. Captain Maddie Algya stepped up with no hesitation and slammed it past Mean Green goalie Sarah Fuller. 1-0.
About the first goal, coach Jobson said, “The handball was caused by intense pressure on them in the back... I’ll take that any day of the week.”
If you recognize the name Sarah Fuller, that’s because she transferred to North Texas from Vanderbilt. At Vanderbilt, she became the first woman to score points in an FBS football game.
As the half kept going, Baylor kept up the pressure.
After the midfield won the ball in transition, Mack Anthony found herself practically alone on the left side. She drove hard toward the box, then cut in and out looking for space to shoot before taking an opening.
The shot would have gone barely wide of the far post, but a Mean Green defender hustling back could not avoid knocking the ball into her own net. 2-0.
Baylor’s defense deserves plenty of credit for keeping the Bears on the front foot all night.
Kayley Ables, Norman, Japic, and Ava Colberg stamped out any threats from UNT very quickly.
North Texas mainly tried to spring quick counter-attacks with long balls, but the Bears' defense was alert, fast and physical to hold them at bay.
The second half was much of the same for both sides.
Anthony and Kooiman created more chances, but none were converted.
The defense was air-tight with only a couple of serious chances for the Mean Green.
One chance came early in the second period when UNT midfielder Taylor Tufts (#4) had a nice give and go with a teammate. She found a sliver of space at the top of the box and sent in a shot.
Jennifer Wandt made the save, and wasn’t trouble much for the rest of the night.
The green and gold defenders had to run hard and stay on high alert because of the design of North Texas' attack.
Coach Jobson was quick to praise every member of the defense after the game, saying “Our back four did a great job, really our back six. The veterans back there did a great job, but man... Ava Colberg did a great job over at right back. You’re starting to see her mature every game.”
When expanding on the younger players stepping up Jobson said, “It's almost expected at this point that our veterans are going to be solid. I don’t want to miss that, but to have a freshman be able to match that and not have to worry about a freshman is very, very good.”
Baylor’s attackers were not wasteful in the second half despite not scoring in the period. They constantly forced the issue and kept UNT disjointed and pressured.
Mack Anthony had a brilliant night overall, forcing the own-goal and putting pressure on every part of the Mean Green backline.
She has now created a goal in three of the last four games, and coach Jobson praised her saying, “You’re really starting to see that maturity. Her confidence on the ball, her ability to hold players off has gotten better, and she’s having success because of it.”
Overall, it was a great performance for the Bears. They were able to work starters back in from injury, control a match for a full 90 minutes, and get above 0.500 for the first time this year. They sit at 3-2-0 now.
On the night as a whole, coach Jobson said, “I think tonight was a full 90-minute game where we started really well, finished really well, didn’t leave much doubt.”
No doubt indeed.
WotM: Mackenzie Anthony - she created the second goal and put the Mean Green under a lot of pressure all night.
Up Next: @ Wisconsin (Sun. 9/5 7PM)