WACO, Texas — Baylor Soccer (2-0-2) scored early against the visiting No. 17 Mississippi Bulldogs (2-1-0) and put the game away late to earn the first ranked win for the program since Michelle Lenard became head coach heading into the 2022 season.
Freshman midfielder Olivia Hess put the Bears in front during a furious first five minutes of play from the home team and junior transfer midfielder Aryanna Jimison sealed the game in the 82nd minute with a great strike to put the Bears out of reach at 2-0.
The first half was all Bears, with Baylor drawing a first-minute penalty kick via Callie Conrad. The junior striker was denied by Mississippi State keeper Sarah Wommack, but the green and gold spared no time for disappointment.
Not even two full minutes later, senior attacker Tyler Isgrig was driving down the left side for the Bears when she found junior winger Theresa McCullough centrally. McCullough immediately turned and teed up Hess for a shot on the left side of the penalty arch.
Hess picker spot — the bottom right corner — and sent the ball past a diving Wommack. 1-0 Baylor just three minutes in.
The green and gold kept the pressure up through the rest of the first half, generating more quality chances. Hallie Augustyn sent a header just over the Mississippi State crossbar during a 30th-minute corner kick. Later, an Alysiah Lockette half volley attempt also missed high after a nice cross from Isgrig was headed back to the sophomore forward.
One unfortunate event from the first half that is worth noting is the apparent head injury suffered by Hannah Augustyn. The midfielder clashed heads with a Bulldog defender during a set piece around the 31st minute and did not return to the contest.
The second half saw the visitors push hard early on for an equalizer. The Bulldogs pressed high and hard, keeping Baylor in their own half for much of the first 15 minutes of the period. Baylor did regain its footing and even out the state of the game.
The Bears came close to the insurance goal they wanted so badly in the 58th minute when Omholt got on the end of a great Isgrig free kick into the Bulldog box. The header from Baylor’s No. 5 pinged off the crossbar and out of play.
It took until the 81st minute for Baylor to find that second goal, but Jimison found it on a counterattack.
After a Blythe Obar clearance made its way to Lockette, the sophomore was joined by Jimison for a two-on-three break. The Houston transfer cut inside onto her left foot and unleashed a shot from close to 25 yards out. The slightest of deflections from a recovering defender threw off the Mississippi State keeper, who ended up overshooting the ball in her attempt to save it at the near post. 2-0 Baylor with nine minutes to play.
The Baylor defense did well to keep things clean for Azul Alvarez in goal, making this the third clean sheet of the season for the senior keeper.
With a Gatorade (or perhaps just ice water) bath after the game, Baylor head coach Michelle Lenard was ecstatic with her team and their execution after what is likely the biggest win of her tenure in Waco so far.
After the game, Lenard said of the win, “Fantastic. Really proud of the team … I told the team, we won the game in the first five minutes. We set the tempo. We did exactly what we planned to do, and we got a great result because of it.”
Now the Bears get the weekend to reset and prepare for former Big 12 foe Texas next Thursday. That game at 7 PM from Betty Lou Mayes field in Waco and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
