Baylor Soccer has now gone two years and seven games without a loss to the SEC. Here are some of my thoughts and takeaways from Thursday’s 2-0 win over LSU in Baton Rouge. Baylor now has the weekend off to prepare for a Thursday night faceoff with the Marquette Golden Eagles in Waco.
» It doesn’t get much more fun to watch than this goal right here.
I mean … c’mon! What a finish by McCullough. Crisp build-up play from Miller and Hess. I’m going to credit Runyan with intentionally trying to play the ball back to McCullough as well (it’s tough to tell what was going through someone’s head in a split second), but it worked out superbly. You really just have to sit back and enjoy the way this team plays sometimes.
» And don’t sleep on Grace White’s goal. Watch how she fades to meet the cross before sending the header back across goal.
It's just pure instinct. When I saw it live, I thought two things: (1) This reminds me of a three-point shooter fading off of a screen to find space for a triple. (2) Not a lot of players have the instinct to faded far post and then head it back to the near post. I’ve seen Premier League players and other professionals do it. It’s flat-out uncommon to see that kind of instinct and execution at this level.
» It was very interesting to see Baylor cycle through formations and be so effective in a 4-4-2 for much of the match. The Bears really do have the personnel to play an effective 4-4-2. Conrad and Runyon can split time as the back-to-goal target, and one of many other options can be the speedier/techier complement. Plus, it can help the Bears overload the midfield with Hess, Evans, Bohanon and Jimison (or maybe even McCullough). It is great that the players have the adaptability to make multiple systems work well, and they showed this clearly against LSU.
» Baylor is scary on the counter. They have so much speed and effort from all of their attackers. And then when one gets tired, there is a quality sub with fresh legs coming off the bench to maintain the threat. The finishing is also the best it’s been under Lenard. Now if they could just stay onside more (whether or not you think the ref made the wrong call on Omholt Thursday night).
» Did I mention the wingers after the last game? Well, they just keep producing. For this diverse attack. The three main wingers — McCullough, Omholt and White — are the top three in points for Baylor. Omholt and White both have three goals to lead the entire team. McCullough has two goals and a team-leading four assists. And Omholt has a pair of assists as well. Just incredible production from the trio. And they keep each other fresh by splitting two positions' worth of minutes across three players. Their production has also been important because defenses, while very aware of the wingers’ threat, are typically focused on forcing the ball away from Callie Conrad, Olivia Hess, and Aryanna Jimison in the middle of the field.
» As much as I am a little surprised that Conrad, Hess and Jimison “only” account for 4 of the Bears' 14 goals and 9 of the Bears 32 goal contributions, I also think that they are carrying the bullseye for Baylor really, really well. Who is the midfielder that defenses will target to disrupt Baylor best? Hess. Who can find a way to score from dang-near anywhere at the most unexpected times? Jimison. And who is a focal point for Baylor’s forward line and therefore a focal point for the defense? Conrad. All three players are in the spine of Baylor’s setup when they are on the field, and all three are top targets to be neutralized by the defense. They are doing really well to work under that pressure, absorb it, and keep the offense working so the others can score most of the goals. As teams start to understand the consistent threats that the wingers are, hopefully things will ease up a little for these three.
» The mentality of the team is in a good place. Players who have been moved out of the starting lineup are coming in and scoring. “Every time I change the lineup and somebody's now coming off the bench instead of starting, they come in and get a goal,” said Coach Lenard after the game. If that isn’t a sign of good mentality, then I don’t know what is. Maybe it’s the pregame dancing and the constant energy coming from the bench. There’s no lack of signs right now.
» Kate Runyon has better chemistry with the other attackers than I was expecting with her coming off of an injury on top of the summer transfer from Tennessee. Huge credit to her for making it look — at least to this media member — like such little drop-off, if any, from Conrad to her.
» Checking in on Michelle Lenard’s “goal” of 2.5 goals per game: Baylor has scored 14 goals in six games. That is 2.33 goals per game. They are close, but soon comes Big 12 play. If they even stay close to 2.5 goals per game as they get into conference play, then understand that this offense is just flat-out great. Also take into account that the Bears have played one of the tougher non-conference schedules in the nation so far (No. 16 as of Thursday’s results per WoSoIndependent.com). How many games should you expect to lose in a season when scoring 2.33 goals per game against quality competition? A very, very small number.
» I’ve said a lot about the offense, but the defense showed they can take a beating on Thursday. LSU was big, strong and kept making runs. Nyela Calnek, Bella James, Sydney Miller and Natalie Vatter weathered every storm, did superbly to limit chances, and picked their spots smartly for tactical fouls. Calnek and Miller earned yellow cards for this, but they were composed after getting booked and kept themselves from getting exposed or worse, sent off. Don’t forget that the defense also went through the aforementioned formation changes, switching between a back four and a back three pretty seamlessly. They aren’t perfect, but they got the clean sheet and can start stringing together better and better performances.
» Don’t take Marquette and Oral Roberts too lightly. While at this point, I would be disappointed if Baylor did not enter Big 12 play at 7-1-0. Marquette drew 1-1 with No. 16 Wisconsin earlier this year, and Oral Roberts is the favorite in the Summit League. If there are any non-conference games on Baylor's schedule to consider cupcakes, these are the games. But I don’t think they are very easy. The Bears should simply be good enough to win both.
