Bears claw back from 2-0, leave with disappointing 2-2 draw

A couple of tough breaks saw Baylor soccer fall down 2-0 to the Oregon Ducks on Sunday night before a furious late rally took the game to overtime. A Chloe Japic penalty kick led to the tying goal, but the Bears could not capitalize on being a player up after one Duck was sent off in the second half.

Oregon started off on the front foot at the Lou, pressing Baylor and turning them over quickly. This led to several chances, and Ally Cook (#33) converted hers to put the Bears down 1-0 six minutes in.

It was a flukey goal really, though I don’t mean to take anything away from the Oregon forward who was in the right place at the right time.

A cross was put in from the left side of the Baylor defense and it was in the perfect place to confuse Baylor keep Jennifer Wandt. With a lot of bodies in front of her, Wandt elected to stay on her line which allowed Cook to get something on the end of the cross. It wasn’t much, but it was too close to Wandt for her to react in time.

Trailing 1-0 Baylor tried to turn up the heat on the Ducks, but the visitors were causing problems for the Bears with their press. Possession could not be sustained and progression forward was tough.

With around 25 minutes left in the half, something changed. Oregon’s press became less stifling and the Bears flooded forward in waves. Coach Jobson said after the game, “We realized we weren’t putting a lot of pressure on the ball. We weren’t winning the first and second balls, so we put a taller player (Lorelai Stramrood #3) in there. I thought she did really well with it.”

After that tactical switch, Gabby Mueller and Elizabeth Kooiman were able to make more dangerous runs at the Ducks’ backline. Mack Anthony also began to find space to get on the end of crosses or turn and shoot at the top of the box.

All of this possession and the chances that they created were sadly not converted into a goal before halftime.

The Bears’ best opportunity of the half was squandered when Kooiman drove in from the left with about 15 minutes left. She unleashed a powerful shot on goal that the Oregon keeper spilled right in front of her net. Sarah Hornyak raced in for the follow-up, but she sliced it over the crossbar from about 7 yards out. It was a very tough miss.

But the Bears stayed resilient and kept pouring forward until the whistle blew for halftime. 

To start the second half, Oregon looked more composed than they had at the end of the first. This helped them nab a second goal about 15 minutes into the half. Forward Kess Elmore (#18) ran onto a long ball, beating Wandt to the ball and slotting it home calmly. It was another tough moment for the Bears, but they persevered.

Coach Jobson noted after the game, “I think we dug ourselves in a bit of a hole… It wasn’t about winning or losing at that point, it was about playing for pride.”

The Bears' effort would have made any coach proud. They continued to pour forward, never losing faith in their teammates to have their backs. That resolve turned into 20 shots through regulation for Baylor, and with nearly 82 minutes of game-time gone a goal for Mack Anthony.

A couple of minutes before the Bear’s breakthrough, Oregon forward Lexi Romero earned two yellow cards in under a minute for interfering with Baylor players trying to take a free-kick right outside the 18-yard box. Two yellows quals a red, and the red card meant that Oregon was down to ten players on the field for the rest of the match.

With that advantage, Chloe Japic moved forward out of the defense and the Baylor press forward as a team even more. After the game, Japic said, “Coach just said ‘Go for it’ and was like ‘Alright! By all means. I’ll go! I have the perspective of defending the people on offense so now I know how to get in their head and cause some trouble.”

The extra attacker helped overload the Duck’s defense and create Anthony’s goal in the 82nd minute. It came from an Elizabeth Kooiman cross from the left side. Anthony nodded back across goal towards the left post. It bounced past the Oregon goalie and breathed new life into the contest.

Down only 2-1 now, the Bears surged forward again. Elizabeth Kooiman, who cause problems for the Ducks down the left wing all night, cut inside and unleashed a great curling shot headed for the upper right corner of the goal. 

That would have been the equalizer on almost any other night, but the Oregon goalie Leah Freeman came to play tonight. She stretched as far as she could and batted Kooiman’s shot over the crossbar. 

Undeterred, the Bears kept their foot on the gas even as time was running out. With the last 10 seconds ticking away, Maddie Algya got the ball back into the Oregon 18-yard box where Japic ran onto it. Japic was immediately taken out by an Oregon defender and a penalty was called right as the buzzer sounded.

Japic won the penalty so she took the kick. She tried to slot it to the left of the keeper but Freeman saved it. Staying calm and focused, Japic corralled the rebound and scored to tie the game 2-2.

Overtime was very similar to the second half for Baylor. They created most of the chances thanks to their one player advantage. 

They couldn’t put any more in the back of the net, but Jennifer Wandt did step up and make a big save in the second overtime period to preserve the tie.

Between the referee decisions, the number of chances that Baylor created, and Oregon’s conversion rate on their chances, it would be harsh to say that either team deserved a better result. Both sides made mistakes, and neither side looked particularly outmatched.

Come conference play, this is the kind of game that the Bears need to find a way to win.

The quality of Baylor’s chances however coupled with their recent form does make this draw a bit disappointing in the grander scheme of things. Even in that sense though, it was still the most thrilling disappointment you could have. 

WotM: Chloe Japic - She scored the winner and especially embodied the grit and determination that the whole team had.

Up Next: SFA (Thu. 9/16 7 PM)