Baylor Soccer Drops Season Opener to Mississippi State 1-0
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Baylor Soccer (0-1-0) dropped its season opener on the road to the No. 18 Mississippi State Bulldogs (1-0-0) by a score of 1-0. A third minute goal by State’s Ilana Izquierdo proved to be the difference between the teams.
Baylor did well to keep the deficit at one despite looking a half-step slow mentally. Senior goalkeeper Azul Alvarez made her debut in goal for the Green and Gold, making three timely saves throughout the game. The only ball that got past the TCU transfer was well hit ball from about 25 yards out by Izquierdo that slammed off of Alvarez’s left post and into the back of the net.
Defensively, the Bears did well against the Bulldogs running in behind, though the home team registered a healthy 17 shots for the game.
Marrissa Gray made her return to competition for the Bears for the first time since 2019, while freshman Paisley Mabra also made her debut as a defensive sub.
In the attack, Baylor stars Ashley Merrill (senior midfielder) and Tyler Isgrig (junior forward) were held in check for all 90 minutes. Isgrig registered two shots — neither on goal — while Merrill did not get a shot off.
Baylor’s best chances to score both came through substitutes. First, in the 34th minute, sophomore midfielder Theresa McCullough sent a low shot from the right side of the box toward the bottom left corner of the goal. The State keeper made the save to keep things 1-0.
The second-best chance for the Bears came in the second half courtesy of graduate midfielder Kai Hayes. In the 66th minute, the UNC transfer found her way onto the end of a good cross into the State box. Her header was deflected just wide of the left post and out for a corner.
From there, the Bears tried throwing more numbers forward, but the Bulldog defense — a calling card for one of the best teams in the SEC — held strong.
Baylor will likely move on from this game knowing that they have to hasten their decision-making and clean up some of those first-game shortcomings. This was not an “eye-opener”. The Green and Gold never looked out of their depth or shocked by the physicality. They were not on the same level as State tonight, but the team looks like it belongs in this level of game moreso than the 2023 Baylor squad.