Baylor Soccer Prepares for Rematch with Arizona to Start Big 12 Tournament
For the second straight year and the second time under head coach Michelle Lenard, Baylor soccer has reached the Big 12 Tournament.
After being the eighth of 10 teams in the bracket last year, Baylor is in a similar spot as it heads to the new host location — Kansas City — as the No. 10 seed out of 12.
A rematch with No. 7 seed Arizona looms on Wednesday, and the Bears hope to avenge their 1-0 loss in Waco in mid-September.
If the Green and Gold turn the tables on the Wildcats, No. 2 seed and 14th ranked Texas Tech awaits on Saturday at the home of the Kansas City Current of the NWSL.
Making the Big 12s
While the Bears have won just one of their last eight games, the team did reach one of the goals they set in the preseason by making the conference tournament.
“Obviously, we want to be there every year,” Coach Lenard said. “Wish it didn't have to come down to the wire. I think we made it harder on ourselves than it needed to be. But in the end, we did what we needed to do to secure a spot and give ourselves a chance, and now the season starts over.”
So what can Baylor do with this blank slate? How much can the players put the underwhelming Big 12 regular season behind them to create new momentum?
“I think it's good to say a blank slate,” says junior midfielder Skye Leach. “But also [we need to] take in what we've learned from this season because we've grown a lot from the beginning. We've had good wins and then some losses that we can learn a lot from.”
This week, the specific loss on everyone’s minds is Sep. 19th against Arizona.
Analyzing Arizona
The Bears’ 1-0 loss to the Wildcats in the second game of Big 12 play a month and a half ago offers plenty of information for the coming rematch.
The Bears had a rocky first 45 minutes but held on for a scoreless first half. Junior goalkeeper Azul Alvarez kept the Bears in the game finishing the night with eight saves — then a joint career-best.
The Green and Gold sorted some things out at halftime but failed to score first.
Graduate midfielder Kai Hayes forced a goal line save, and junior forward Tyler Isgrig hit the woodwork, narrowly missing out on an equalizer.
“I believe they had four in the midfield with us, so it was difficult to kind of deal with them in the second half,” Hayes said when reflecting on the matchup.
Coach Lenard was very critical immediately after that game, saying, “We had a horrible first half. We were tactically mismatched and had trouble making adjustments on the fly.”
This time around, the Green and Gold are likely to be more ready to adapt to whatever is thrown at them.
“We have some areas that I think we can exploit against them,” Coach Lenard said on Monday, “But for us, it's a matter of putting together 90 solid minutes, which we've struggled to do here over the past few games.”
Given that the Bears have averaged 1.37 goals per game this year, it stands to reason that the talented attackers on this squad can get one into the Wildcats’ goal on Wednesday.
And if that argument in favor of Baylor does not sway you, then Leach put it more directly, echoing what her father told her:
“It's hard to beat a team twice, and I think we learned a lot from that game.”
Current Circumstances
Beyond the specifics of Baylor vs. Arizona, the Bears get to experience the first Big 12 Soccer Tournament’s return to Kansas City after three years in Round Rock.
The highlight of this return is the host venue and organization: CPKC Stadium, the home of the NWSL’s Kansas City Current.
CPKC stadium is an 11,500-seat stadium that is “the first privately financed specifically for a women’s pro team in the United States, though two other stadiums have seen women’s professional teams as founding, anchor tenants,” according to a 2021 article from The Equalizer.
“Watching the NWSL and the Kansas City Current play there, and the fact that we're going to be able to play on that same field of those great players, is exciting to not only be there, but around the fans that they bring in too,” Hayes said, “And it’s somewhere new, it's on the big stage, so we're super excited.”
Coach Lenard also highlighted the top quality of the facilities with regard to the rather gloomy weather forecasts.
“This is a soccer facility built for a women's professional league team. It's the only one in the country built specifically for a women's professional league team … We expect the surface is going to be fantastic. It's going to be playable under all conditions. It's going to be an exciting venue for us to play in. And it's nobody's home filled, so no excuses there.”
The Bears’ head coach also noted that the surface at CPKS Stadium is possibly more similar to Baylor’s Betty Lou Mayes Field than any other venue in the Big 12, which could be a slight advantage or simply a comfort for the Bears.
The Bottom Line
With all that has been covered about the matchup, the location and the stakes, the main thing is still the main thing: Win or go home.
“Our focus is ‘win the next game,’” Coach Lenard said. “And as far as getting in [to the NCAAs], I don't know that we have to win the whole thing, but we do have to beat a couple of teams that are ranked pretty high, so I think two wins could put us in a really good position and give us an outside chance.”
When it comes to Arizona, Coach Lenard’s final word is this: “They're a good team. They've had a good season overall. It's going to be a competitive match, but it's a good matchup for us. It’s a winnable game.”
“I feel like you can think about Nov. 9 and winning the whole thing,” added Hayes. “But that doesn't matter until you focus on what's ahead.”
Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. CT from KPKC Stadium, and the stream will be available on ESPN+.