Baylor clears easy path past Lumberjacks, wins 3-0
Baylor Soccer extended its unbeaten streak to five with an easy 3-0 win over visiting Stephen F. Austin Thursday night.
Mack Anthony and Chloe Japic made it two games in a row with goals, while Elizabeth Kooiman netted her first of the year to cap the action.
The Bears had no trouble settling into their second to last conference game. Both teams came out with good energy and hustle, but Baylor was the physically superior team.
After ten or so minutes, the green and gold started to dominate possession and impose their will.
Taylor Moon made her first start since SMU while Chloe Japic was moved up to midfield with Gabby Mueller sitting this contest out.
Moon looked bright off the start causing problems for the ‘Jacks’ defense and testing their keeper a couple of times. She was subbed off after about 15 minutes of play in the first half and was played similarly in the second.
After the game coach Jobson said, “She hasn’t played in a few games. That protocol is always getting the match fit again and making sure we don’t over-stress the body. But it’s great to have her back.”
Shortly after Moon was subbed off, her partners up front put Baylor into the lead.
Kooiman, who has been on a great run of form recently, sent a nice cross in that Mackenzie
Anthony headed home. It was their second such connection in the last two games and gave Anthony her team-leading fourth goal of the year.
A few minutes later, Chloe Japic matched Anthony’s two-game tally. Maddie Algya played a nice give-and-go with Japic to slip her into the SFA box, where she found just enough room to get her shot past the keeper.
From there the Bears stayed in control and started to put in some more subs. Sophie Wilson had a nice first-touch shot just over the crossbar and sophomore forward Chloe Brown made her season debut as well.
Baylor out-shot the Lumberjacks 12-2 in the first half and Jennifer Wandt did not need to make a single save in the first half.
The second half was more of the sam and Baylor used it as an opportunity to rest some players while getting others some useful experience before conference play.
In total, 18 Bears saw the field today with 17 of them logging at least 22 minutes. However, it may have been a starter who had the got the best experience of the night.
In the 57th minute, Kooiman corralled a corner kick in the SFA box, created separation from her defender, and thrashed a shot right over the goalie’s head for her first goal of the year.
Kooiman has been one of the green and gold’s most dangerous attackers all year, so to finally see one go in had to be great.
After the game she said, “It was definitely good to get the first goal in the back of the net, hopefully break the gates a little bit, but yeah it was just good to score. I’ve definitely had chances and it has been frustrating, especially when other keepers have made some amazing saves. It’s nice to finally have one go in.”
It wasn’t easy all night on the Bears though. A couple of minutes into the second half, who it was still 2-0 the Lumberjacks had their best chance of the night. Wandt was left scrambling after only getting a piece of the SFA ball in, and Kayley Ables and Ava Colberg were able to get the ball off the line and out of danger.
Wandt said, “Those are some plays that can either hurt us or give us some momentum. You want to see multiple people there ready to clear it off. And I thought it helped our momentum cause it kinda helped us snap out of our little lull.”
Kooiman scored her goal eight minutes later and Baylor cruised for the rest of the night.
Among the many players to see action tonight was Kate Zimmerman, the freshman defender who suffered a rough head injury against Nebraska back on August 26th. It was her first game-time since the injury and it was great to see her back out there.
After the game coach Jobson said, “We’re dinged-up in some different areas. I feel like we get one back and we lose one.” Specifically, he was getting at midfielder Gabby Mueller who was out tonight. He did add, “But, we’ll have her back pretty quick”, so that is good news in the end.
A game like this where the Bears could confidently control most of the match was perfect for Coach Jobson to try some new tactics and positions for players, which is just what he did.
On the decision to move Japic into the midfield for the starting lineup tonight, Jobson said “we felt like while we might lose a little bit defensively because she’s so good in the back for us, we thought we would gain something in the attack. And I think she solved some problems, so not as much falls on the backline. We’re about to hit conference play, so this is kind of our last chance this week to try some things and see where people can best help us before we go into conference play.”
It also is great to see Japic and Mackenzie Anthony scoring goals in consecutive games. Specifically, coach said, “I love it. Especially Mack Anthony, who’s a center forward, she’s a goal scorer. That’s what she was recruited to do. I know she was frustrated last year not getting in that rhythm, but she’s showing maturity on the field now and creating some great opportunities for herself.”
With their three goals tonight, Baylor has scored multiple goals in four of its last five matches. Not a bad way to head into conference play.
WotM: Elizabeth Kooiman - It all seems to be coming together for her. Good luck finding a defender that can keep her quiet for a full 90.
Up Next: San Francisco (Sun. 9/19 12PM)