Baylor Soccer to Start Six-Game Homestand Against SMU
Baylor Soccer is preparing to open up a six-game home stand as they wind down non-conference play this week with SMU and Abilene Christian coming to Waco on Thursday and Sunday respectively.
This year’s matchup will make it three consecutive seasons that the sides have clashed, with the record and even 1-1-0. Overall, the Bears are just 5-8-0 against the Mustangs, but four of the last five have gone Baylor’s way.
Last year’s contest was a hard-fought 1-0 loss in Dallas for Michelle Lenard and her squad. SMU midfielder Mackenzie Rudden (#8) scored the lone goal. Sudden is now one of the central figures in a young team that is coming off of a 6-0 drubbing from the University of Texas.
Along with Rudden, SMU’s biggest goal-scoring threat is likely to be Rose Nyah (#19) who has netted four of the Mustangs’ five goals this season.
As far as style of play goes, Coach Lenard described SMU in good detail:
“They like to build, they like to possess the ball – in some ways very similar to us. Also, very young, which is also very similar to us. They had a lot of turnover in their roster last year, they graduated some really key players. So, I think they’re kind of in this growing phase as well.”
Knowing that the opponents will not stress her squad in the same way that previous opponent Butler did, Lenard can perhaps spend more time looking inward and helping her squad improve their consistency rather than merely preparing for the next opponent. A delicate balance to strike typically.
As far as Baylor’s back line is concerned, redshirt freshman defender Natalie Vatter expressed that they are improving their communication and consistency.
“We've been connecting really well. And I think communication has been better along like the whole backline and with our sixes [defensive midfielders] as well.”
The advantage of a familiar and similar opponent is not the only positive the Bears can enjoy this week though. The six-game home stand they start by hosting SMU will allow a travel-weary team to get settled in.
Sophomore midfielder Skye Leach spoke to the burden of playing games at Oregon, Nebraska, Texas A&M and Butler to start the year saying, “It takes a toll on our bodies, and just mentally and physically.”
The team’s Butler trip was also deceptively tough. A Thursday night game right straight into a full day of travel on Friday. Sunday’s game was at noon on an old turf field with heat and humidity. Baylor trains in hotter temps right by the Brazos, but the physical strain and mental strain should not be underestimated.
But the team is aiming to constantly rise above all of that.
“It doesn’t matter our opponent, it doesn’t matter how many people are in the stands, the game, conference, non-conference, home or away,” said Coach Lenard. “Can we be the same team day in and day out. And I think that we’ve established that for the most part, the identity that the way we play is very consistent right now.”
There is still room to grow, and with national No. 1 BYU and No. 17 Texas coming to Waco in the next couple of weeks, that improvement is necessary to earning some upset results.
So how exactly do the Bears improve?
“What we’re lacking is consistency in our scoring threat. It ebbs and flows too much for me,” said Lenard.
The Baylor head coach went on to say that this particularly has to do with the substitutes, though the starters are not free from this scrutiny.
With a chance to match the 2022 season win total tomorrow against SMU, the entire program is looking at other, loftier goals. There is a confidence about the culture and the gameplay. SMU is just the next test.
When asked what the difference between the two years has been, Skye Leach focused on one word: Chemistry.
Baylor kicks off against SMU at 7 PM CST at Betty Lou Mayes Field and the game will be on ESPN+.
Other Notes:
Lenard on Butler
“We might not have had as much of the ball in the second half as we’d like, or as many shots. But I don’t think we ever felt too worried that we were going to lose the game”
“Just learning to problem solve on the fly is really important for our young players. And we had to do that in that game. So, it was great experience for them. And that will help us for these upcoming tough opponents.”
Vatter on Butler
“We struggled, they kind of opened us up a little bit more position-wise… we still connected well and fought to get a good win away.”
Leach on Butler
“I think that every challenge we go through just makes us stronger, where we can just use that and take that and learn.”