Baylor Soccer Wins Battle of the Brazos 2-1 over Texas A&M to Stay Undefeated
WACO, Texas — Baylor Soccer won this year’s ‘Battle of the Brazos’ 2-1 over the visiting Texas A&M Aggies to remain undefeated in the young season. Goals from senior forward Callie Conrad and freshman winger Grace White built the lead for the Bears, and the defense held firm through the second half after conceding a goal to Texas A&M’s Finley Lacher in the final minute of the first half.
With two wins over quality SEC opponents in as many games, the Bears of Betty Lou will be eyeing Tuesday’s United Soccer Coaches top 25 poll to see if they break into the national rankings.
Baylor has now gone five straight games against the SEC without a loss over the last two years. In fact, Michelle Lenard’s team has not lost to an SEC opponent since the first game of the 2024 season, going 5-0-1 since that loss to Mississippi State.
On to the game action: It took the Bears three to five minutes to settle in and figure out just how Texas A&M was playing them. The Aggies are in their first year under head coach Bobby Shuttleworth, so their on field identity is not fully formed yet.
After that initial period, Baylor quickly got on the front foot, worked around and through the Aggies’ high press, and tested the defense.
In the seventh minute, freshman midfielder Brynnlee Bohannon held off her defender near midfield and sent a perfectly-weighted through ball down the left side for senior winger Lauren Omholt to run onto. Omholt got her head up, picked out senior forward Callie Conrad for a cutback cross and Conrad slammed the ball off the bottom of the crossbar and in for the opening goal. 1-0 Baylor, and Conrad’s second goal of the year.
After a mid-half hydration break, Baylor’s substitutes helped work a second goal for the Bears and the first of freshman Grace White’s young career. Senior winger Theresa McCullough had a nice give-and-go with fellow senior midfielder Aryanna Jimison to get McCullough raising questions of the defense in the center of the field. With the back line focused on McCullough, Grace White had a clear run toward goal from the left wing. McCullough found White in the box, and the freshman stayed cool as could be, slotting her shot past the keeper to the far side of goal. 2-0 Baylor in the 32nd minute.
Speaking about her goal, White said, “I feel like I was at one spot and then I looked up, and a through ball was coming in. So right as I had it, I knew I didn't have much time. So I took a touch and just tried to bury it in the corner, and it worked out.”
Baylor could not take the two-goal lead into the locker room, however. In the last minute of the first half, Texas A&M defender Riley Crooks made a driving run into the heart of the Baylor defense. After splitting two oncoming defenders, Crooks found Finley Lacher in a more central area with room to shoot. Lacher took one touch for control, then shot the ball perfectly into the bottom left corner of the Bears’ goal. Baylor fifth-year keeper Azul Alvarez came close, but she could not deny the effort. 2-1 Baylor with 46 seconds left in the half.
The second half was not quite as electric, with neither side finding an amazing look on goal. There were good chances created at both ends, including a daring first-time effort by Jimison for Baylor that sailed high and wide of the A&M goal.
The game was by no means dull in the second 45, with both teams willing to press high and play end-to-end, but the defense locked in and limited good shooting chances, leading to a scoreless half.
“We really had to come out and win the 50/50 duels,” said Baylor senior defender and former Aggie Bella James, “I felt like we kind of dipped off in the end of the first half, and we really need to come out with more pressure and more competitiveness to kind of bring up the mentality and the intensity.”
The Bears did just that, even throwing in some crunching tackles that earned a pair of yellow cards during the second half. James’ yellow was quickly rescinded after video review showed the defender got all ball with her challenge.
Michelle Lenard was concerned with fatigue as the game wore on and her Bears were a half step slow or a beat late with a handful of challenges.
“I was worried we used a lot of energy at Arkansas, and you could see it tonight. There was some fatigue, mental and physical fatigue. So the fact that we played, I think, well below what we're capable of, and still came away with a win is a really big takeaway for us. We found some resilience to get through some hard moments … It wasn't all pretty, but we found a way to win, and that's a sign of a great team.”
The Bears happily took the fatigue and the scoreless half in exchange for the final result: a 2-1 win over their in-state rivals. Now Baylor has a full week to rest up and reset before welcoming last year’s NCAA first-round foe Texas State to Waco for another Sunday contest.
While the Bears will be looking for another win, Coach Lenard is also hoping to see a repeat performance of a different kind come August 23rd. Another great showing of fans in the stands.
“We had a great turnout tonight. Really appreciate the fan support. We needed that. We knew they were going to travel well… So really proud to have [our fans] out tonight. It was a great college environment, a great opening weekend for our team. We hope that Baylor fans will continue to come out and support this team this season.”
