MISSOULA, Montana — Baylor Soccer (0-0-2) drew with Denver University (1-0-2) after the Bears could not create a goal despite playing a woman up for nearly 70 minutes thanks to a first-half red card for the Pioneers.
Baylor outshot Denver 23-5 and put 10 of those shots on goal while earning 10 corner kicks. The closest the Bears came to a winner was the obvious goal-scoring opportunity denied by the red card in the first half and a Kai Hayes goal waved off for offside in the 78th minute.
The dismissal of Nora Zelazny of Denver in the 22nd minute of play was well warranted. After a Pioneers corner kick, Baylor junior forward Lauren Omholt found herself in possession of the ball and driving right at the last Denver defender between her and the goal — albeit at the midfield line. With a nifty touch to play the ball inside of the defender, Zelazny, and ahead into plenty of grass, Omholt was able to utilize her superior speed to pass Zelazny and find herself in on the Denver goal with just the keeper to beat. Cynically, the Denver defender robbed Omholt of a shooting opportunity by yanking the forward back by the jersey.
An obvious red card and frankly a smart play, but in light of the final scoreline, an even more egregious infraction of the rules.
With just 10 players left on the field for the rest of the game, Denver fought hard to deny the Bears good goal-scoring opportunities. The only other notable moment from the first half came when Baylor freshman midfielder Olivia Hess forced the Pioneers’ keeper into a tip save with an elevated shot from the edge of the box.
After halftime, Baylor did a better job of posing a threat on goal, with Tyler Isgrig drawing a good save with a 47th-minute shot. But the game got a bit stretched at times with Denver countering a Baylor offensive push and nearly scoring while undermanned. That 50th-minute counter ended with a whimper as the Pioneer spearheading the break took a weak shot instead of finding her two teammates on the other side of goal.
The Bears hit right back at the other end of the field with Isgrig finding Omholt in the Denver six-yard box. The Pioneer keeper made an excellent save to deny Omholt and preserve the 0-0 scoreline.
A minute later, Baylor transfer midfielder Aryanna Jimison came within inches of that elusive goal on a free kick. The transfer from Houston shot beneath the jumping wall and straight at the far post from 25 or so yards out and left the shot at most a foot wide to the right.
The final chances for Baylor came in the 78th minute and once again, Omholt was at the center of the action. With the ball in the right corner of the offensive half, the junior forward fought her way past a Pioneer defender and into the Denver box. On the edge of the box, Omholt was fouled, leading to a decision for the referee. Was the forward fouled inside of the penalty box or outside of it?
Outside was the decision and the resulting free kick was where midfielder Kai Hayes looked to have won the game for the Bears.
Just a handful of yards off of the end line and just outside the box was the location of the free kick, making for an interesting angle of attack. Essentially, it played out like a winger sending a cross in, but instead of a few forwards attacking the cross, it was practically the entirety of both teams.
The ball ricocheted around before falling in front of Hayes and Hannah Augustyn. Augustyn was coming back from the end line while Hayes was heading toward goal. Augustyn got to the ball first and, wrapping her foot around the ball, put a shot on goal. The shot was blocked and rebounded right to Hayes, who put the ball in the back of the net.
In the middle of the celebrations, Hayes and her teammates realized that the referees had called Augustyn offside. No goal, the teams were still tied 0-0.
After reviewing the broadcast several times, the only time Augustyn could have been called offside was in the initial phase of the free kick. The angle of the broadcast camera is not conducive to judging whether or not she was indeed offside here, but it was extremely close at the very least. A brutal decision and outcome for the Bears.
That was the last great chance for Baylor to net a winner as well. The final 12 minutes were seen out by the Pioneers, and the Bears remained both winless and lossless after two games of the 2025 season.
Not being able to generate a goal against a team with one fewer player on the field than you for nearly 70 out of 90 minutes is very disappointing. The Bears did not look in synch much today. They are capable of more than they showed. But this is not a good start to a season where the team has real hope of getting back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2018.
Up Next: A Sunday showdown against Montana (2:30 PM CT Sunday) in Missoula, on ESPN+.
