Quotes & Notes: Baylor Soccer Prepares for NCAA Second Round Game against Wisconsin
Baylor Soccer is preparing for its NCAA Tournament second-round game against the Wisconsin Badgers on Thursday afternoon in South Bend, Indiana. The No. 5 seed Bears kick off against the No. 4 seed Badgers at the home of No. 1 seed Notre Dame Soccer at 2:00 p.m. CT.
Baylor earned its way into the round of 32 with a 3-0 win over the Texas State Bobcats last Friday in Waco. Meanwhile, the Badgers made it past a pesky Western Michigan squad 3-2 in Madison.
While the winner of this Baylor vs. Wisconsin matchup will face the winner of Notre Dame and Ohio State, Baylor head coach Michelle Lenard is looking to keep her team’s focus on the task at hand. No room to bask in the success of making it to this stage or look past the opponent waiting for them on Thursday.
“We're trying to take this one game at a time … So we were excited to make the NCAA tournament, but as I've said before, this wasn't some sort of destination that we had arrived at and suddenly felt satisfied by that. We want to continue playing at our best, giving ourselves a chance to advance, and we feel that we can do that in this game. “
At this point in the season, every team is a worthy opponent and has earned their way into the final 32 teams playing this season. Coach Lenard helpfully spoke about some specifics of how the Badgers have created their success and how the Bears will try to manage those challenges.
“They attack with five a lot. They bring one out of their midfield, and so they'll overload your back line. They're organized, they're hard working, physical, very physical at times, they’ve got good size all the way around, they’re a really disciplined team. I don't think tactically, anything overly complicated to solve, but still hard to play against that many numbers in the attack.”
With the way the Bears like to push their own midfielder higher up the field when in possession, the Baylor defensive line could be especially vulnerable to counterattacks and breakaways in this matchup.
“There is going to be a lot of space in transition moments … and we have to be disciplined to transition collectively so that we don't get stretched and the game doesn't become really transitional. Otherwise, I think that plays more into their favor.”
Circling back to one thing Coach Lenard mentioned earlier — the Badgers' physicality — the fight of Wisconsin could be the determining factor in a game of fine margins. Especially knowing that the Big Ten is arguably a more physical league than the Big 12.
“I think probably the biggest challenge for us is just to match their physicality, to be strong, not get pushed around, making sure that we don't let them level the playing field in that way. But on paper, it's a pretty even game, both teams with similar records, similar number of goals, similar number of goals conceded, similar-ish styles of play. They probably lean more direct than we do, so hopefully our control and our ball movement can take over the game.”
As for how the Bears feel about themselves heading into Thursday, Baylor goalkeeper Azul Alvarez has a different mindset than her coach, but that’s not a problem for either.
“I just feel like some teams and some people just kind of look at us like underdogs,” said Alvarez, “And we're just here to prove our point, and just show that we are capable of doing big things.”
A chip on the shoulder can be a good thing, and Alvarez’s performance all year has backed that up. But Coach Lenard is thinking differently.
“I don't ever think we're an underdog. I just don't think about it that way at all. You know, we just focus on getting ready to play and playing at our best. And I never think we're the better team or we're the underdog. I just think, can we play at our best today? What's going to put our team in the best position to succeed?”
If those are the questions that matter, then Lenard seems to have a good grasp of the tactical side, and the rest of the answer is squared away in the team culture.
“The girls just enjoy playing together,” said Lenard when asked about the opportunity her team has in front of them. “They love representing Baylor. They love the opportunity to go to a new place and play against a new opponent. All those things are exciting, and they want to keep competing for championships.”
Notes on Wisconsin:
- Finished 5th in the Big Ten with a 6-3-2 conference record
- The Big Ten went 7-2 in the first round of the NCAAs
- Wisconsin finished the regular season ranked No. 15 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll and is currently No. 23 in RPI (Baylor is No. 23 and No. 17 in those)
- Common Opponent: Colorado visited both teams and lost 1-0 to Wisconsin and 2-1 to Baylor
- Wisconsin has four wins over current top 25 teams and three such losses (Washington twice and 6-0 to Michigan State)
- Wisconsin is scoring about 1.5 goals per game while giving up slightly under one goal per game
- Jr. MF #25 Erin Connolly leads the Badgers in goals with 9 (zero assists) and scored twice against Western Michigan
- Gr. F/MF #33 Adee Boer is second in goals with 7 (zero assists) and has scored one in each of the last three games
- R-Fr. F #27 Brooke Allen is joint 2nd on the team in total points with 6 goals and 2 assists
- Jr. D #12 Ella Ottey leads the Badgers in assists with 7 but has been held quiet in that department for the most part since the start of conference play
- Wisconsin has kept 10 clean sheets this season (Baylor has 11)
