Matt Hellman | Lariat Photo Editor
By Daniel Wallace
Sports Writer
The Bears outscored their opponents 8-1 this weekend at Betty Lou Mays Field. Baylor defeated the Missouri Tigers on Friday 3-1 and was victorious again over the Jackson State Tigers, 5-0, on Sunday afternoon. Friday’s win was due in part to a fiery start to the game and Sunday’s victory was sealed in a dominant second half.
Just under two minutes into the game against Missouri (11-6, 2-4), junior midfielder Hanna Gilmore found herself in a one-on-one with the Tigers goalkeeper and kicked the ball past her toward the near post and into the net.
Junior forward Dana Larsen dished out the assist that found Gilmore for the score. In the 10th minute, Larsen again was in on the scoring, this time recording the goal. From three yards out, Larsen received a cross from sophomore forward Vic Hoffman and found the net for her seventh score of the season.
“Baylor is coming up,” Larsen said. “Every team we beat is just another great smile, another great win.”
Coach Marci Jobson said she was impressed with her defense that held the high-powered, creative Missouri offense to just one goal. She compared the game to a track meet, saying there was more running than normal for her team in the game. In the end, Baylor crossed the finish line ahead of Missouri.
“It was a beautiful game from my team,” Jobson said. “I was in awe of the way they played defensively. They just played such great team defense. Then we got the ball and we were calm on the ball and we were able to score three goals. The girls just stepped it up and held true to what they do.”
The Bears scored again in the 54th minute, four minutes after the Tigers cut the lead in half. Larsen scored again on an assist from junior midfielder Lisa Sliwinski for the 3-1 advantage.
In Sunday’s match, the Bears (13-2-2, 4-1-1) went into halftime with a 1-0 lead. Over the next 45 minutes, they would score four more times to put away the Jackson State Tigers (4-7-1). The Bears outshot the Tigers 31-1 on the day, a new season high. Larsen added her ninth goal of the season, the most for any Bear since Megan Sherrell had that many in 2007. Senior midfielder Christine Clark, Sliwinski, junior midfielder Caitlin Fennegan and junior midfielder Michelle Hagen also added goals for the Bears.
It was Senior Day for the Bears as all seven seniors were honored in a ceremony on the field after the game.
“I think all the girls came out and wanted to play for the seniors and play for all that they’ve done for us,” Finnegan said. “It’s been such an awesome year and just I think everyone on the team has been so great about playing their role.”
Although the Bears won the game 5-0, the team did not get off to the best of starts, senior defender Staz Salinas said.
“We definitely started out rough,” she said. “I think maybe senior day had something to do with it; I’m not really sure. Definitely at halftime, we were spoken to. We definitely turned it around and said we are going to do this for the seniors.”
Baylor is 7-0-1 in its last eight matches and has improved to 8-0-1 at home this season.
