MISSOULA, Montana — Baylor Soccer (1-0-2) earned its first win of the season, topping its hosts, the Montana Grizzlies (1-0-2) by a score of 2-0.
Hallie Augustyn scored the opener for the Bears just eight minutes into the game, heading home a Tyler Isgrig corner with ease. The insurance came just before halftime as Alysiah Lockette cleaned up the scraps of a corner that started very similarly to the first goal in the 43rd minute.
The Green and Gold took control of an energetic game with that early goal and turned the lead into domination of possession and the game as a whole. Despite some nervy moments in the final 15 minutes of the game, the performance was a step forward for Baylor, who now have a tally in the win column for 2025.
The energetic, or perhaps hectic, start to the game saw Baylor transfer forward Lauren Omholt fight her way past a Montana defender on the right wing and find junior Theresa McCullough in the six-yard box. The Grizzlies’ defense smothered the shot attempt, but the tone was set.
Montana immediately showed that they could pose a similar threat at the other end of the field, causing issues for the Baylor defense and forcing a pair of blocks out of junior defender Natalie Vatter in the 6th minute. Vatter stayed on the ground after the physical initial challenge and was hit in the head with the follow-up attempt, leading to a short stoppage in the game.
Vatter got back on her feet and made it through the rest of the game with no apparent lingering damage.
Quickly back in the Grizzlies’ half a minute later, freshman midfielder Olivia Hess sent McCullough in with a great through ball. McCullough picked out Omholt on the far side of the Montana box, and Omholt put a great header onto the right post of the Montana goal. A great chance missed by inches.
Baylor would break through before 60 more seconds ticked off the clock. Omholt won the Bears a corner on her right side. Isgrig sent a perfectly weighted corner kick to the far post, where an essentially unmarked Hallie Augustyn rose and headed the ball home. 1-0 Bears.
McCullough thought she had double the Baylor lead just seven minutes later when she sent a Callie Conrad cross into the back of the net, but in her excitement to make herself available on the breakaway, she wound up offside at the moment of truth. A clear and accurate call by the referee.
Omholt helped create more chances as the half wore on, along with junior midfielder Aryanna Jimison and junior defender Nyela Calnek. Jimison rounded the keeper on a breakaway, but the defense caught up in time to block her shot from a tight angle. Meanwhile, Calnek nearly found the back of the net with what appeared to be just a cross attempt. The left outside back hit the far right post of the Montana goal before bouncing back into the mix of players in the box.
The Grizzlies were struggling to hold possession as the Bears pressed high and hard. It took until the 34th minute for the Baylor goal to come under real threat again when Montana’s Chloe Seelhoff was sent in behind the defense with a great — if not a little lucky — through ball that split a pair of Bears. Seelhoff dribbled along the top of the Baylor box before pinging a shot off the crossbar.
That was the closest the Grizzlies came to a goal until the final 15 minutes of the game.
Still largely in control, Baylor found its insurance goal thanks to another corner kick. Once again, Isgrig found Hallie Augustyn at the back post for a headed attempt on goal. The Grizzles were able to block that header, but the ball ricocheted around before falling in front of Alysiah Lockett,e who poked it over the line. 2-0 Baylor in the 43rd minute.
The second half was much more mundane. Baylor's chances on goal were highlighted by Jimison beating the Montana keeper again before getting smothered by desperate defenders.
Meanwhile, Hallie Augustyn and fellow defender junior Angelina Moschetti had to make key blocks to prevent quality shot attempts by the Grizzlies. Baylor goalkeeper Azul Alvarez may have been up to the task of those shots, but the blocks were important nonetheless.
There were another pair of decent chances for Montana, but the Bears saw things out, and Alvarez kept her second clean sheet of the season.
Up Next: Baylor now returns to Waco for the home opener against Mississippi State on Thursday night (7 PM CT, on ESPN+). The game is a blackout, admission is free and it should be a fun start to the Baylor sports weekend ahead of Friday’s football game against Auburn.
