FORT WORTH, Texas — No. 23 Baylor Soccer (13-4-3) suffered it’s worst defeat of the season on Wednesday night in Fort Worth, dropping a 4-0 contest to the BYU Cougars (10-6-4) in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals.
The No. 5-seeded Bears fell behind 2-0 in the first half and could not claw a goal back before the No. 8-seeded Cougars put things out of reach with a third and a fourth in the second half.
“This game breaks your heart, right?” said Baylor head coach Michelle Lenard after the game, “You have the highs, like we did in the last game, and you win a big game on penalties, and then you come back out here and just kind of fall flat.”
It was a tough task for the Bears to recover from their longest and most taxing game of the season and come out with energy just 48 hours later. But it was also no excuse with BYU having beaten TCU on penalties in the game immediately after Baylor’s on Monday.
“You factor in the quick turnaround, which they had to deal with as well, and we just didn't have the legs we needed to try to chase a game by two goals. So, disappointed for sure. We know we're capable of much better. But congrats to BYU. They played great. They had a great game plan. They executed it really well, and we just have to rebound.”
The fact that BYU scored first and found a second goal not long after was key. You use more energy chasing a game than holding on to a lead, so the Bears will be ruing their poor set-piece defending, which allowed both first-half goals.
In the 30th minute, BYU earned a corner and went for a short routine, getting the ball back to the corner taker closer to the box. Ellie Walbruch met the chipped cross around the near corner of the Baylor six-yard box and sent a glancing header into the far side netting for the opening score.
1-0 BYU.
Things got worse for the Bears in the 36th minute when they failed to clear the ball after a free kick. Eventually, the ball fell to a Cougar on the right side of the Baylor box, and Alvarez made a mad dash off of her line in an attempt to smother the chance. The cross made it past the Baylor keeper and was headed home by a wide-open Mattyn Summers-Oviatt for BYU at the far post.
2-0 BYU.
In the waning seconds of the first half, Baylor had a golden opportunity to halve the deficit when a high-arching diagonal into the BYU box bounced to Baylor outside back Nyela Calnek. Calnek’s first-time attempt with her left foot fizzed about a foot wide right of the far post. Everything there was right but the finish, and the Bears would remain down 2-0 heading into the locker room.
The second half was more of the same for the Bears, who struggled to find the decisive pass or get a clean shot on goal. When the Bears did test the keeper — and those few tests were very good attempts — the BYU net minder was up to the tall tasks.
The game was put to bed in the 67th minute when BYU pounced on an errant Baylor back-pass, finding Walbruch in the BU box to slot home her second and the Cougars’ third.
3-0 BYU.
Eleven minutes later, BYU would grab a fourth goal, and both teams started to sub more heavily to prevent key injuries and maximize rest for the next challenges. For BYU, that will be a trip to Waco to play for a Big 12 Tournament championship against either Kansas or Colorado.
For Baylor, the next challenge is most likely the NCAA tournament. With 32 schools hosting first round games, the Bears are in good position to host a round of 64 game on November 14th, 15th or 16th.
“I think we're we're really fortunate to be in a position where we feel confident that we're going to get to play again,” said Coach Lenard, “This would have been a devastating way for the season to end and for the seniors’ careers to end. So it kind of maybe helps us tighten some things up.”
From there, the second and third rounds are played on the campuses of the top eight teams entering the second round before the top four remaining schools host the round of eight. The Women’s College is being played at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, this year on December 5th and 8th.
As for the final word on this game: “I didn't think it was tactical … I thought we were breaking down individually. I think with some rest and opportunity to go home and recover, I think we're going to be fine.”
