ORLANDO, Fla. – No. 16 Baylor soccer (11-3-2, 6-3 Big 12) battled through a competitive 90 minutes on the road Thursday night, coming up short in a 2-1 loss to UCF (10-2-4, 4-1-4 Big 12) in Florida.
The Bears opened the match on the front foot, earning six corner kicks within the first 10 minutes of play, five in its favor, and registered a pair of early shots on goal.
The Knights capitalized in the 37th minute when Jada Silvest buried a left-footed strike off a corner kick, with assists from Honoka Hamano and Liz Worden, to give UCF the 1-0 lead heading into halftime.
The home team doubled its advantage in the 57th minute, as Rajanah Reed found the back of the net to make it 2-0. True to form, the Bears responded immediately, as Tyler Isgrig put Baylor on the board with her eighth goal of the season, finishing a feed from Adriana Merriam, who tallied her first assist of the year and the second of her career.
Baylor continued to press for an equalizer down the stretch, outshooting the Knights 19-9 overall, including a 9-4 edge in shots on target. UCF goalkeeper Genesis Perez Watson made nine saves to preserve the win, while Azul Alvarez returned after missing time with an injury and recorded four stops in goal for the Bears.
UP NEXT
Baylor continues its road stretch Sunday, facing Houston at 6 p.m. in the second of three straight away matches to close out conference play.
