Preview: Baylor Soccer Opens Season at Oregon

The 2023 Baylor Soccer season begins tomorrow night in Eugene Oregon with the Bears set to battle the Oregon Ducks at 7 PM CST. 

These two programs are in somewhat similar situations. Both teams come off of disappointing 2022 campaigns. Oregon finished 11th in the PAC-12 at 4-8-7. The Bears went 4-11-2 and finished 9th in the Big 12. Injuries and unforgiving schedules play key roles for both.

Heading into this season both teams were picked to finish 11th in their respective leagues as well.

The Ducks’ and Bears’ squads are also now both largely filled with underclassmen, and the teams will rely on them heavily in the coming season.

Now, Oregon did not utilize the transfer portal to the same degree that Michelle Lenard did and that may be the key edge that Baylor enters the game with. More collegiate experience, even from just second-year players is nothing to scoff at.

Looking a bit deeper, the Ducks’ coach, Graeme Abel, highlighted the athleticism of his team. He also wants “pace up top”. Combined, that sounds like possibly a more direct play style than what Baylor will employ. 

Key players to watch for Oregon include:

• Ajanae Respass — #13, 2022 PAC-12 All-Freshman forward, 4 goals, 2 assists
• Grace Mensah — #6 midfielder, “most athletic”

Key concerns:

• Goalkeeper: Replacing Oregon’s career leader in shutouts 
• Defense: The Ducks gave up the most shots in the PAC-12 last year
• Midfield: Replacing the career leader in assists (19) and games played (92)

With the chance to control the style of play through their possession, the Bears have a chance to put a lot of pressure on a young team with a defense that struggled last year. If they can test a new starting keeper with a lot of shots on goal, I like Baylor’s odds.

For their part, Michelle Lenard and the Bears are going in with no set expectations.

“We're a lot different team than we were last year. So we're not going to be naive and expect that there'll be identical to what they were last year, either.”

And while Oregon has confidence in its young depth, Baylor will likely go deeper with their bench.

“There's a number of players who could be in the first 11 Any day,” said Coach Lenard, “And so when we make our first round of substitutions, that group could be our first 11. And that's a difference in depth from last year That I think is going to be beneficial, not just this upcoming weekend, but all season.”

In more direct comparison, Lenard said she plans on playing at least 17 to 18 and Oregon’s Coach Abel said 15 to 16 would see the field for him.

Many of the 18 that may see the field for the Bears are newcomers to Waco and have had to work at integrating into the program through the summer.

Joint 2022 point leader Ashley Merrill said, “It's been fun incorporating new girls, and just creating a new culture for the team.”

Merrill and fellow returning upperclassman Jenna Patterson noted that Missouri transfer Hannah Boughton (midfield #10) and freshman Skylar Zinnecker (forward #21) have been the easiest to connect with on the field so far.

The hope is that the combination of new faces and subsequent culture building translate quickly onto the field in the form of more goals. 

In the two preseason exhibitions, the Bears put seven in the back of the net compared to five last year’s exhibitions and 15 through last season.

“We're replicating a lot of the same types of goals [in exhibitions],” Coach Lenard said, “Which is a really positive sign that we'll be able to continue doing that go into the regular season.”

Further notes from the Baylor head coach include:

• The goalkeeper battle is down to graduate transfer Makinzie Short and sophomore Ashlee Zirkel. Short is expected to start the opener, but “We're gonna play both because they're both capable of being the number one, not because we don't have a number one.“
• “This group has been fantastic so far, they're easy to coach. They're fun.”
• “This team is 100% on the same page, there's there's no confusion, no ‘oh I'm built for a different style of play', none of that remains.”
• Lenard is more comfortable with the off-the-field aspects of running the program now that were not as complicated to navigate at DBU (travel, academics, etc)