Starting XI: Notes & Takeaways from Baylor Soccer's Season-Opening Win at No. 10 Arkansas

After an exciting 4-1 thrashing of No. 10 Arkansas to open the Baylor Soccer season, here are some of my thoughts and takeaways from the game. The Bears host another SEC foe, Texas A&M, on Sunday night. Kickoff for this ‘green out’ game is at 7:30 p.m. and entry is free.

» Olivia Hess (So., MF #4) was superb on Wednesday night. Her understanding of not only where her teammates would be but also what the team needed her to do with the ball was so good. You could also see that her focus on improving strength and physicality this offseason was already paying dividends. She didn’t need the goal to make her performance great, but it was a nice cherry on top. Plus getting things to 3-0 (2-0 is often considered the most dangerous lead in soccer) helped keep things comfortable with Arkansas drawing things back to 4-1 later in the game.

» Natalie Vatter (5th, OB #3) is an eraser, and I’m not sure why Arkansas seemed to focus on going at her all through the first half. She showed once again that she is almost always in the right place at the right time to answer the bell when opponents come calling. She even reminded me not to question her speed, winning multiple 1-on-1 races to the ball that I was sure Razorback attackers would win. I am left curious how the game would have changed had the Hogs focused on attacking the opposite side more, given that the other three members of the back line are all new starters this season.

» Grace White (Fr., LW #15) looks like she was playing with expectations. I touted her as a “freshman phenom” and “leading-scorer candidate” by the end of the spring, and that won’t change. She has too much skill and game IQ. I’m not sure if she was pressing, but it looked like everything was there except for the finish last night. The chances she helped create were high quality, and she wasn’t bodied into poor shots either. Sometimes you just don’t beat the keeper. That won’t last forever, and when the damn breaks, I think she will make it clear she belongs in top-level college soccer.

» Lauren Omholt (Sr., RW #5) got on the radar early, so much for the “under-the-radar” billing I gave her in the preseason. She earned the start over Theresa McCullough, at least for that game (it will likely and hopefully be an ongoing competition of the best kind), and made the most of it. Her speed on the wing is a big part of how she won the penalty, but smartly stacking the defender like a wide receiver running a go route and then slowing down a little to bait the foul in the box was just awesome to see. Omholt could be turning a corner and become an absolute menace at RW. 

» Nyela Calnek (Sr., CB #20) and Bella James (Sr., CB #19) as the starting center back pairing looked alright. Sydney Miller (Jr., OB #2) looked pretty dang good at left outside back opposite Vatter. Again, I’m curious how they will respond if a team picks on any one of them more primarily than Arkansas seemed to last night. Calnek has some of the best pace on the team, and James played nearly 1000 minutes for Texas A&M last year. This was a good start for all three, something to build on.

» Aryanna Jimison (Sr., F/MF #10) definitely took lifting and physicality seriously during the offseason. She looked very composed and “in-system” out there, giving good hold-up play for her teammates to play off of. And against a big and physical team like Arkansas, that is no small task. Huge props to Jimison for taking that step up over the offseason.

» Azul Alvarez (5th, GK #1) is such a rock at goalkeeper and will give the new defense good cover to settle in; she did that a few times last night. The communication is likely still developing, but there were a few times where defenders were in harm's way when Azul went for a punch. It's a part of the game, and the specific instances did not spark real concerns about communication or cohesiveness for me, just something that caught my eye.

» Some of the passing/build-out sequences by the Bears were just so damn smooth and satisfying. Things flowed really well, and it was very reminiscent of the more talent-rich teams we saw in the World Cup this summer. Funny how that works when Michelle Lenard says that they want to be “the Spain of the NCAA”. I’m impressed at how good the attack looks from a mental standpoint too. A lot of understanding and good decisions. Things seemed very natural, especially considering this was the first game of the season.

» I think one area of growth for the defense is going to be knowing when to just boot the ball to safety. There were some times where they were a little slow on the ball and/or made an ill-advised pass and turned it over. They largely had runners well covered, so not creating bad situations for themselves when building out from the back is specifically the thing to watch for as a defensive concern. They have the players to win the ball back in the midfield if they have to boot it long every now and then.

» The Bears have three really good wingers if Theresa McCullough (Sr., RW #14) is the one that's not starting. Omholt showed it with her goal, and White honestly should have had at least one goal from her three great chances. So bringing McCullough on with fresh legs is great for the Bears and bad news for defenders. Don’t sleep on a player just because they aren’t starting. Or watch her win that starting right winger role back.

» Noelle Sather (Jr., MF #6) showed just how much she can do box-to-box last night, and she will be missed if she is called away by Canada for U-20 Women’s National Team duty later this month. The good news is that the Bears have more quality midfielders than they can start right now, with Sather coming off of the bench against Arkansas. Her likely absence might be what broke a tie for who would start between her and Taylor Evans, honestly. They both have the quality to start. But that is just speculation. So for now, just enjoy what she can do for the Bears, like the BANGER of a goal she scored to put Baylor up 4-0 last night. Dear Lord, what an exclamation point on the team’s performance.