Baylor Soccer utilized a red card against Pepperdine to find a 3-1 win at home on Sunday night. Here are some of my thoughts and takeaways from that game as the Bears head into a Thursday night faceoff with the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge. Bears vs. Tigers kicks off at 7 p.m. (SECN+).
» That’s a quality win against a good team. Don’t underestimate Pepperdine; they very well could end up in the NCAA Tournament. They were clear preseason favorites in the WCC and, heading into Waco, were undefeated. Draws with USC and Texas Tech, along with their win over Cal, are all good results against power conference teams. Any win over an NCAA-quality team should not be glossed over.
» Great use of the coaches challenge by Coach Lenard to tilt the game in the Bears’ favor. I saw the egregious shirt pull from the field level and was shocked at the no-call. I had forgotten about the new challenge rule, and maybe the ref did too, the way Lenard described it. “This new challenge rule is weird, and we're trying to figure out how to do that. But the refs got it right. They came back and told us we could challenge it after all, and we were able to get that foul called back and a red card [given].” Making sure they did everything to not let that opportunity be wasted made the difference in the game.
» Add a goal to Jimison’s tally for the year. She was going to score that breakaway that ended with the red card to Pepperdine. I know it. You know it. Coach Lenard knows it. Jimison knows it. She’s finding a groove right now, and I would guess that's part of why Coach Lenard gave her the start on Sunday. This brings me to my next point …
» Don’t discount this win because of the red card. Yes, it was tied when the Waves went down to 10 players. But again, it was either 1-1 with a player advantage or 2-1 Bears. I think Baylor would have won either way. The Bears had been very threatening in 11-on-11 play since the 30-minute mark of the first half. It's an easy thing to claim after the fact, but I’ll stick to it.
» The defense needs to settle in and — dare I say it — trust itself more. The Pepperdine goal was unfortunate, a little lucky, and showed me a lack of decisiveness. The Bears have conceded seven goals through five games. And a clean sheet in Baton Rouge could do wonders. Where my point about trusting themselves comes from is the adjustment Lenard said they made in the first half against Pepperdine. They were playing too conservatively for the Bears to be effective going forward. They set a higher line, condensing the midfield spaces and making it easier for the rest of the team to do their jobs at a high level. It is a sign to me of both the defense’s issues and what they can be.
» Lauren Omholt stayed on her hot streak. She had a goal and an assist in 60 minutes as well as helping Jimison force the red card.
The winger is leading the team in goals (3) and points (8) with a goal contribution every 40 or so minutes, or 1.6 goal contributions per appearance. Looking at it another way, that's 2.24 goal contributions per 90 minutes. The numbers will likely come back to earth a bit, but enjoy the streak while it’s going! Omholt is a fun player to watch.
» It’s great to see the wingers rise to the challenge when teams are making a point of limiting the central attackers. Baylor has three really good ones in Grace White, Theresa McCullough and Omholt. McCullough is unlucky not to have scored like the other two against Pepperdine. She came inches away multiple times on Sunday. A goal would have put McCullough level on points with Omholt. And the winger with the least points so far might be the most instinctual goal scorer of the bunch. The last three opponents have all focused on limiting Hess and the midfielders, so the wingers producing enough to win two of the three has been good to see.
» It felt like Sydney Miller was everywhere on Sunday. She’s been a great complement to Vatter. Her work rate was great and she made almost every tackle, interception and intervention that the Bears asked her to. That was a really good 63-minute performance from the Tennessee transfer.
» Swann, Staubach and Runyon all looked good in their appearances off the bench. Kaitlin Swann has been steady if nothing else, deputizing in the midfield in Sather’s absence. Swann has shown she’s more than playable if the Bears need another midfielder off the bench for whatever reason after Sather returns. Staubach had her best appearance of the year against Pepperdine. While she probably should have scored herself instead of playing a pass to an offside McCullough, she came in when the Bears were pouring forward and did not let the Waves breathe or reset. That should build confidence. Kate Runyon, who started the season sidelined by an injury, is quickly cementing herself as a like-for-like sub for Callie Conrad at center forward with little drop-off from Baylor’s No. 9. I’d expect her to get on the scoresheet soon and likely carve out the most consistent role of these three moving forward.
» The last three games have been a great learning experience for this squad. They have been down a goal in two of the games. They have been without a key midfield piece in Noelle Sather in all three. They have made mistakes and had to recover from the Texas State loss. The team is figuring out how to deal with various types of adversity, and they have found ways to get things done. Getting these experiences in after Arkansas was not as good as expected is great, especially considering how the rest of the non-conference slate is not exactly a murderer's row.
» These next three games are all very winnable. At LSU, vs. Marquette, and at Oral Roberts. If they can win all three, they will be on a great streak heading into Morgantown for the conference opener. WVU is No. 7 in the nation right now, and that game could have huge implications for the Big 12 regular season title race.
