Baylor Soccer Scraps Past UTSA Roadrunners 1-0

WACO, Texas — Ashley Merrill scored the winner and lone goal for Baylor Soccer (5-3-1) to help the Bears close out non-conference play with a 1-0 win on Sunday night against UTSA.

It was a physical, defensive struggle for much of the game with the Bears not generating as many chances as they would typically like. They put in just 11 shots on the night while UTSA kept possession of the ball for a slim majority of the game.

But a win is a win, and this is the fifth for Michelle Lenard and co. this season, one more than her 2022 team earned in their full season.

“It feels nice,” said Coach Lenard, “A little bit of a burden off of my shoulders.” 

But she refocused on the present very quickly. They did lose their conference opener to a very good Texas team and have a top-five team in BYU coming to Waco on Thursday.

With UTSA bringing a style of play that emphasized physicality and directness more than most of Baylor’s opponents so far this year — except perhaps Nebraska — the Bears were challenged in different ways.

After any Baylor turnover, the ball would be moved rapidly toward the Bears’ goal, putting the Green-and-Gold defenders on constant high alert.

A free kick and four corners in the first 10 minutes were sent toward Makinzie Short’s goal. Despite having to split time in gaol with Ashlee Zirkel this year, Short was ready and handled each chance with relative ease.

“It was just another game. I think our [goalkeeper] competition, we make each other better… so that just makes you better for coming up to start the next game.”

Over the next ten minutes, the Bears returned the flurry of attacks. A pair of corners preceded a Natalie Vatter shot that clanged off of the crossbar. A superb effort that was just a few inches too high.

The Bears won a corner in the direct aftermath of that shot though, and that is where Baylor’s most prolific attackers did their thing.

Tyler Isgrig sent a beautiful ball in from the right corner flag and it sailed just out of the reach of the UTSA keeper and the defender marking Ashley Merrill. Merrill Made clean contact on her header and slammed the ball into the back of the net.

1-0 Baylor.

It was Isgrig’s sixth assist of the year and Merrill’s seventh goal. Both are team leaders in those respective categories.

Isgrig and Hannah Boughton got a couple more quality shots in on the Roadrunner’s goal before halftime, but both were saved.

The second half saw the Bears play more defensively than they had all year by virtue of UTSA’s attack. The Baylor offense was short-lived and the Roadrunners would quickly send the ball back toward the Bears’ goal.

Hallie Augustyn and her fellow defenders worked tirelessly to snuff out any and every chance for the visitors including taking hard shots off of their bodies.

Augustyn did just that in the 58th minute just to have the ball bounce to a Roadrunner who shot the ball toward goal. Another UTSA player redirected it, but Short read it all well and was up to the challenge.

One of the dicier moments of half two was in the 72nd minute when a long ball into the Baylor box saw Short race off of her line only to have a UTSA player go for a header right in front of her. Luckily, the Roadrunner did not have a high enough vertical and Short was able to clear.

The Roadrunner’s best scoring opportunity Camelot long after, with a curling ball into the box coming from the left wing. Marlee Fray for UTSA sent a strong header wide left of the Baylor goal and out for a goal kick.

While the game had been very physical throughout, it had not been especially chippy until the 77th minute when Ava Colberg for Baylor and Jordan Walker for UTSA were fighting for a ball. Walker had her arm up around Colberg’s neck as the ref called a foul on Walker. Colberg took exception to the forceful contact around her neck and shoved Walker to the ground. Both received a yellow card and somewhat unbelievably, neither was sent off despite the unnecessary contact to the head or neck area or the shoving. 

That was the second to last big moment of the match, with the final one being a shot blocked by Theresa McCullough on the UTSA right wing.

With that block, and a little more grit and hustle, the Bears were able to protect their one-goal lead through the last five minutes.

Baylor finished non-conference play with a win and a record of 5-2-1 against their non-Big 12 foes.

From here on out, it is all conference play all the time. So what have the Bears learned up to this point in the season?

“What we’ve primarily learned is that every game is a big game,” offered Coach Lenard, “And every game requires our best and we’ve got to start to show up.”

She later added, “I think that we can’t be comfortable. Some games we feel really comfortable, we’re playing really well and have 100% confidence, and then maybe we become — it’s not complacent in the sense they are not taking it serious — but I think that we lose some concentration.”

So, after a 4-0 loss to No. 16 Texas and a top-five team in BYU coming to Waco next, getting a win over a scrappy UTSA program was a good step.

“It was definitely great to get a win going into the next game and after our last game,” said Makinzie Short, “It was good to turn that around so we can have some momentum going into the next game. That’s a big, big opponent for us.”

WotM — Hallie Augustyn

Up Next — vs BYU Thursday, September 21st at 7 PM CST (ESPN+)