Preview: No. 12 Baylor Soccer to Fight for Early Big 12 Advantage at No. 9 West Virginia
No. 12 Baylor Soccer starts Big 12 play on Friday with a trip to the Mountain State to play No. 9 West Virginia. This is a clash of the two highest-ranked Big 12 teams and could have massive consequences in the conference title race at the end of the season.
The Bears, while not undefeated in non-conference play like the 5-0-1 Mountaineers, do boast a better RPI (No. 5 vs. No. 19 in the nation) with their 7-1-0 record.
“We feel like we did what we needed to do with our eight non-conference games,” said Baylor head coach Michelle Lenard on Wednesday. “We played a variety of different opponents, all really challenging games, different types of style of play, different athletic abilities … so we have faced a lot of different scenarios at this point in the year, and that's really helped equip and prepare us for Big 12 play. And then we've also built a really good resume for the NCAA tournament in RPI.”
But how much does any of that matter now? Non-conference wins don’t carry factor into the conference standings.
“Now it kind of starts over, and we've got to be able to carry what we've learned over into Big 12 play and get results and get points. So these road trips, especially this first one, it's important for us to go get points.”
For those new to college soccer or just soccer in general, the standings are dictated by points per game. Three points for a win, one point for a draw, zero for a loss. Due to the possibility of games being cancelled due to weather and prohibitive travel, it is points per game instead of just total points.
Focusing back on the Bears' opponent for Friday, the No. 9 Mountaineers are a well-organized and methodical squad that prides itself on their defensive ability.
West Virginia has given up just three goals on 16 shots on goal and 40 total shots faced through their seven games. The Bears have played two extra games, but they have also put more shots on goal (50) than the total shots the Mountaineers have faced. Similarly, the Bears have scored 17 goals compared to WVU’s 16 shots on goal faced and three goals allowed.
“They're disciplined, they're hardworking, their game model's clear, they don't take a lot of risk, they're methodical,” said Michelle Lenard of WVU. “And so we have to be patient. We have to take the right type of risk. We want to put them under pressure because they want to have the ball as well. But we don't have to feel like we need to go and chase the game.”
So West Virginia has eased the load on their defense by maintaining methodical possession. This has drawbacks like creating fewer top-level scoring chances; less risk, less reward. But the style can also wear on opponents, perhaps more mentally than physically even.
“They get better as the game goes on. So we've got to stay sharp. We can't fall asleep. We've got to make sure we're looking for the second half, as they tend to dial things up in the second half. But this game's going to feel different than the other games that we've played, and we need to have the right mindset for that, which is a lot of concentration, a lot of focus.”
So how can Baylor challenge the Mountaineers in ways that they have not yet been tested?
Note, WVU’s schedule does not appear as tough as Baylor’s. All of Baylor’s opponents to date have RPI ranked No. 115 or better. Half of WVU’s opponents to date have worse RPI ranks, and the half that are in the same range are not tougher than Baylor’s top three opponents by rank.
This shows that the Mountaineers have really only played one game against even close to the Bears’ level. Penn State, a team in the receiving votes section of this week's IWSOC poll, is No. 15 in the RPI and lost to WVU 2-1. Meanwhile, the Bears have a 2-1 win over RPI No. 17 Texas, the 3-1 loss to RPI No. 32 Texas State and the 2-1 win over RPI No. 46 Oral Roberts on the books. They are more experienced this season than the Mountaineers and can play to that by putting WVU under pressure early.
“[We want to] press their back line a little bit and make them a little bit uncomfortable. Seems like a lot of teams have kind of sat off and allowed them some possession,” said Coach Lenard. “We want to make sure we make them uncomfortable early.”
Few things should make them more uncomfortable than an early goal for the Bears. But with such a stout defense, scoring won’t be easy. Baylor has to make the chances they do create count.
“We need to be opportunistic,” said Coach Lenard. “You know, when we do create chances, we need to create quality chances, and we need to be ready to score those goals. It might be unlikely that we create as many chances as we have in other games. So when the chances do come, we need to be ready for them, and we need to be clinical in front of the goal. But I also think that we can test their backline and challenge them in a way that maybe some of their previous opponents haven’t.”
The No. 12 Bears and No. 9 Mountaineers kick off at 6 p.m. Central Time on ESPN+ on Friday night. An early advantage in what should still be a wide-open title race will be there for the taking on the field in Morgantown.
Watch Wednesday’s full media availability here:
