Baylor Soccer Loses in Lubbock, 1-0

LUBBOCK, Texas — Baylor Soccer dropped a hard-fought, 1-0 game to the Texas Tech Red Raiders who remain undefeated in Big 12 play.

The Bears once again struggled to create chances against a very good defense with just four shots registered in the 90 minutes. 

Defensively the Bears were once again solid, giving up just 13 shots, five of which were on gaol. The goal was also not indicative of the defensive performance.

That lone score came in the 62nd minute when Ashleigh Williams found herself with the ball driving into the Baylor 18-yard box. As she neared Azul Alvarez’s six-yard box, she unleashed her shot. 

A shot that looked aimed at the right corner appeared to take a deflection off of defender Hallie Augustyn, who was lunging to block the shot. The deflection took the ball back toward the center of the goal, forcing Alvarez to reload from diving to her right to a pure vertical attempt at a tip save. She did not have the time to get enough height on her jump and the save attempt — despite making contact with the ball — failed. 1-0 Texas Tech.

The game was decided in that one unfortunate sequence of events. A hustling defender is slightly too late to block the shot instead of deflecting it. The goalkeeper, preparing for the shot and not the deflection, not having time to adjust at such close range. 

This Baylor defensive effort earns a shutout probably nine out of ten times. This was one of those rare instances.

The Red Raiders defense was similarly stout, but Baylor head coach Michelle Lenard will surely be wanting more from her attack than four shots with two on goal.

Frankly, the Bears' best chance at a goal came in the 11th minute when Ashley Merrill punched on a misplayed ball in the Texas Tech 18-yard box. Her shot was slashed well over the goal.

Now, with just ten shots in the last two games, the Bears are showing that they have not offensively figured out how to play against any top-level team. 

Baylor did unleash 19 shots at the Colorado goal last Thursday, but with outputs like five shots against Mississippi State, seven shots against Iowa and nine shots against Oklahoma State, improvements need to be made.

Now shots are not by any means the end-all-be-all of offensively proficiency and output. However, you can’t win games you don’t score in and you can’t really score without shooting.

So now the Bears must regroup and prepare for their last homestand with games in Waco on Thursday and Saturday against Arizona State and West Virginia respectively. 

Baylor can win every game remaining on their schedule. A trip to BYU on October 17th is likely the toughest game remaining and BYU does not look as powerful as they have been in recent years.

The Green and Gold are backing themselves into a bit of a corner though when it comes to achieving their goals of reaching the NCAAs and making noise in the Big 12 race. There are only so many chances left.