Baylor Soccer Beats Houston 3-2, Secures Spot in Big 12 Tournament

HOUSTON — Baylor Soccer rode a Salma Simonin opener and an Ashley Merrill brace past the pesky Houston Cougars on the final match day of the regular season to earn a 3-2 win and the No. 8 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. 

Simonin put the Bears out front in the 10th minute, but Houston answered immediately with a spectacular strike 35 seconds later. Merrill then stepped up and hit an incredibly skillful shot of her own to retake a 2-1 lead for the Bears in the 35th minute. A 68th-minute Houston free-kick goal then set the table for Merrill to slot the winner into the bottom left of the Cougars goal in the 81st minute.

Merrill’s two goals gave her 11 on the season, the most of any Baylor Bears since Dana Larsen in 2012. 

The game was very open and fast-paced for much of the proceedings though the Bears were very much in control while the Cougars attempted quick hits on counterattacks.

At the start, Houston was more willing to play Baylor’s game and Jenna Patterson made the most of that. When a Cougar’s back pass was a bit too slow, she pounced, intercepting the ball and immediately finding Simonin behind her. The freshman drove and found room to shoot, placing her shot perfectly into the far left corner of goal. 1-0 Baylor.

Houston then answered within a minute with perhaps the most electrifying goal of the night. The Cougars sent a long lofted ball toward the Baylor box where a Houston forward headed it backward to Cordelia Cross who then sent a perfect shot over Ashlee Zirkel’s fingertips and under the crossbar for an equalizer. 1-1.

Simonin and Theresa McCullough aided Tyler Isgrig and Adriana Merriam in pressuring the Houston defense in the aftermath, but Baylor’s next breakthrough would come once again from almost nothing.

In a sort of parody of the Houston goal, Hallie Augustyn lofted a long ball toward the box in the 35th minute where a combination of a UH defender and Salma Simonin sent the ball bouncing toward Ashly Merrill. 

Merrill took one touch to control the ball and sent a shot from outside the 18-yard box past the diving Cougar keeper and into the right side of the goal. 2-1 Baylor.

After halftime, Baylor continued to control the game as Merrill looked sure to score an insurance goal. Around the 65th minute, Merrill sent a header just wide of goal off of a great cross from Isgrig. Then seconds later, she rocketed a shot from distance off of the crossbar.

Three minutes later, the Cougars earned a free kick just outside of the box on their right wing. The service was great and Maddie Bowers jumped onto the end of it to knock it home. Baylor was undone yet again by a set play. 2-2.

As Baylor fans may have started to pay more attention to the Texas Tech vs. Iowa State scoreline — for tournament qualification purposes — Baylor's leading scorer rose to the occasion. With just ten minutes to go, Ashley Merrill carried the ball from midfield to the penalty arch outside the Houston box. She cut onto her right foot and lasered a shot perfectly into the bottom left corner of the Cougars’ goal. 3-2 Baylor.

Despite Hallie Augustyn being forced off the field with an injury, Baylor held on for the win and secured the No. 8 seed in Round Rock and a rematch with No. 9 seed Cincinnati on Saturday at 1 PM CST. 

The Bears drew the Bearcats 2-2 in Waco just 11 days ago. The winner will face regular-season champion and national No. 6 Texas Tech on Monday at 2 PM CST.

With the regular season now over, it is worth noting that the nine wins for Michelle Lenard’s squad is more than double last year’s four. The 4-4-2 Big 12 record is also a huge improvement on 2022’s 2-7-0 mark.

Baylor finished the regular season with a -5 goal differential and 31 goals, which is again just above double last season’s tally.

WotM — Ashley Merrill — Clutch goals that showed off both her skill and her killer instinct. What a time for the team’s leading scorer to show up in a big way.

Up Next — The Big 12 Tournament vs. Cincinnati on Saturday, October 28 at 1 PM CST (ESPN+)