Baylor Soccer Tops Butler Bulldogs 2-0 in Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS — Baylor Soccer made the final road trip of its non-conference slate a resounding success with a 2-0 win over the Butler Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon.

First half goals from Skylar Zinnecker and Hallie Augustyn — assisted by Jenna Patterson and Tyler Isgrgig respectively — made the difference for the Bears in an overall solid performance. Baylor has now won back-to-back regular season games for the first time under head coach Michelle Lenard.

The Bears came out ready to play in the first half, a clear point of emphasis after the Louisiana Tech game on Thursday. The Green-and-Gold got on the front foot early, earning a corner in the first three minutes and threatening the Butler goal another time. 

There were some nervy moments early too though. An award back-pass to goalkeeper Ashlee Zirkel became a turnover in a dangerous spot. However, the Bears dealt with the threat well.

About ten minutes after that sequence, the Green-and-Gold were back to seriously threatening the Butler goal. Patterson was in a dangerous area and sent in a cross that got cut out. 

Just seconds later, an errant Butler pass in the midfield was pounced on by Skylar Zinnecker. The freshman forward drove toward the goal with Jenna Patterson making an accompanying run on the right wing.

Zinnecker dished to Patterson who worked it into the box and got a cross in to Zinnecker despite a deflection. From there, it was all on Zinnecker to connect with the ball and put her shot on goal. 

Baylor’s No. 21 did just that, slotting the ball around the keeper and into the bottom right corner of the goal. 1-0 Baylor.

The subsequent hydration break did nothing to slow the Bears’ momentum. 

In the 30th minute, Zinnecker was again in on goal but the Bulldogs’ keeper raced off of her line and caught the Baylor forward between a shot and a chip. The ball sailed out of play.

Then in the 34th minute, after a pair of Baylor corners, the Bears recycled the ball to Tyler Isgrig in the left corner. The Arlington, Texas native then teed up a beautiful ball into the box. 

All Hallie Augustyn had to do was rise up and head it home from about six yards out. She did just that and the Bears doubled their lead. 2-0 Baylor.

The Green-and-Gold had one more great chance before halftime when Theresa McCullough picked out a beautiful pass to Hannah Boughton in transition, but the Missouri transfer’s shot was parried into the outside netting of the goal in the 38th minute.

The rest of the first half and much of the second half had little to note. 

The Bulldogs came out with more aggression and energy in the second half, breaking up Baylor’s possession at a higher rate and sending 13 shots towards Baylor's goal compared to the Bears registering just one in the second period. 

The increase in intensity and shots made no real difference to the bottom line though. The final shots on goal tally was 5-4 in Butler’s favor.

Now, the Flo Sports stream dropped for a solid 10 minutes or so in the middle of the second half, so I may have missed a good chance or two for either team, but:

The best chance for Baylor in the second half was a Hannah Boughton shot on goal in the 57th minute. It was well worked in a transitional moment, but the Bulldogs’ keeper was quick off of her line and did well to block the shot.

At the other end, the nerviest moment of half two for the Bears came in the 84th minute when a poor pass from goalkeeper Makinzie Short went straight to a Butler player and quickly turned into a shot on goal that Short blocked out for a corner.

After that, the Bears held strong and protected their 2-0 lead to the final whistle.

This was another solid win for the Bears, but there is clear room for improvement. The consistency from game to game or even half to half is not where it needs to be to push toward the top of the standings in conference play. 

With SMU and Abilene Christian coming to Waco next week, the Green-and-Gold will have great opportunities to make corrections before Texas visits to open up Big 12 play.

WotM — Skylar Zinnecker — An awesome first half of great runs and hard work, rewarded with a clean goal to open up the scoring and give her two on the year so far.

Up Next — vs. SMU Thursday, September 7th at 7 PM CST