AUSTIN, Texas — Baylor Soccer scrapped its way past former Big 12 foe Texas 2-1 on a muggy Thursday Night in the State Capitol thanks to goals by seniors Aryanna Jimison and Theresa McCullough.
The Bears fell behind early, with the hosts getting behind the Baylor back line in the 16th minute thanks to a nice long ball over the top of the defense. This created a two-on-one for Callan Harrington and Ava McDonald. McDonald, Texas’ speed demon on the right, beat Baylor’s Nyela Calnek to the ball and found Harrington cutting across the Baylor box toward the left side of the goal. It was a tap-in for Texas. 1-0.
In light of how Baylor lost its last outing, a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Texas State, it makes sense that Baylor goalkeeper Azul Alvarez was hesitant to rush off of her line in an attempt to beat McDonald to the initial ball. It would have been extremely close.
“Maybe she's feeling a little bit burnt from the last game,” said Baylor head coach Michelle Lenard after the game. “We’ve got to manage the distances, and I can understand why. So we'll work through that.”
Alvarez rallied to keep the Horns scoreless for the rest of the contest, making five saves and defending eight corner kicks successfully.
The rest of the team did its best not to let a poor first half defeat them mentally. While Texas minimized the danger of Baylor’s possession and created good chances for themselves, Baylor did find an equalizer before halftime thanks to forward Aryanna Jimison.
When a headed ball flew out of the Texas 18-yard box and fell right at the feet of Jimison in the 32nd minute, everyone in the stadium knew the Houston transfer would take a crack at goal. That’s why Jimison faked once, took a touch into the space in front of her and put her laces through the ball from 20 yards out. A low-flying rocket from just left of where the penalty arc meets the box zipped across goal, past the diving keeper, and tucked itself neatly just inside the right post in the bottom corner. 1-1.
“We needed the momentum shift because we didn't feel like we had the ball, but we weren't creating enough quality opportunities. We were taking a lot of shots from long range, and we needed something to fall,” said Michelle Lenard on Jimison’s goal. “So, obviously, it's good for her to get her first goal of the season, get the game tied back up, so we could go into halftime not chasing the game.”
Even before halftime, Lenard and her staff made some necessary adjustments, and the Bears came out of the break looking much more in control of the proceedings.
“It was a really important game for us to not just win, but to play well and feel good about the way that we played. And we did have a slow start. And I told the team at halftime that tactically I didn't get it right going in. We made an adjustment about two-thirds through the first half, and you could see the improvement. The girls adapted really well to that, so I was proud of them for being able to handle that … [Texas] asked a lot of questions of us, and it was a tough 90 minutes.”
Despite the better play, Baylor was still deadlocked with Texas halfway through the second half. That is when senior winger Theresa McCullough found an opening. At first, it was just McCullough on her own with the ball with acres of space on the left wing. She dribbled into the Texas box to ask questions of the defense, and the Longhorns practically refused to give an answer. Two defenders assumed the other would make the necessary challenge on the ball, and McCullough was left with the time and space to punch an easy shot home from right on the six-yard box line. 2-1 Baylor.
“What great decision-making and execution from [Theresa],” said Coach Lenard after the game. “In those spaces, you're usually looking for a pass. But as they dropped and dropped, Theresa just read the defense and kept going. And you know, they parted the Red Sea a little bit there, and she found an open net.”
Cool, calm and collected; McCullough, as always, was ready for whatever was thrown at her.
“Theresa is always the person to put the team first. She never doubts or questions anything. She shows up to give her best in whatever role you ask of her today… She's 100% a team-first player. It's probably something to do with being a part of a family of nine kids, but we absolutely trust her in any role … She adds value every time she steps on the field.”
The hosts did make a push for a late equalizer, but the Bears defended well as a unit, withstanding a flurry of late corner kicks and even a video review for a possible foul in the box. No penalty was given, and the Bears saw it out to the end for the bounce-back win.
Baylor is now 3-0 against the SEC this year with wins over three former SWC members in Arkansas, Texas A&M and now Texas.
The Bears now return to Betty Lou Mayes Field for a Sunday matchup with Pepperdine. The Malibu team will be yet another good test for a Baylor team that has not played a single cupcake yet.
“I think they just tied Tech 1-1, and they're a good team. They're well coached. They're organized,” said Lenard. “So we're going to need to recover really well. I do think that we used our bench a little bit better today. So hopefully we'll be able to bounce back. But it's going to be tough.”
As with every Baylor Soccer home game this season, admission on Sunday is free, and another good crowd could help the Bears forget about any tired legs.
“It's been awesome so far. We've had great turnout. We were obviously disappointed in the last game, but we're ready to show these fans that we could put together a good performance for them.”
Kickoff for Baylor vs. Pepperdine is set for 7 p.m. (ESPN+).
