By Greg DeVries
Sports Editor
The No. 20 Baylor women’s soccer team had a tough road test this past weekend, taking on the No. 25 West Virginia Mountaineers on Friday night and Oklahoma State on Sunday afternoon.
Road victories are hard to come by in Big 12 play, but the Bears did come away with two draws.
The Bears are now 11-1-4 on the season, and 2-0-3 in Big 12 play.
The Bears have not lost since Aug. 26.
The Mountaineers scored first in the 26th minute of the game. West Virginia junior midfielder Kara Blosser had a go at goal from 16 yards out.
She struck the ball into the lower right corner of the net and the Mountaineers took a 1-0 lead.
Baylor recorded five more shots and three more corner kicks than the Mountaineers in the first half, but the score remained 1-0 going into halftime.
“At halftime, we told the girls to just keep doing what they were doing,” head coach Marci Jobson said. “They weren’t discouraged at halftime.”
With under a minute left to go in the game, the Bears were still down 1-0.
Freshman forward Bri Campos drew a foul just outside of the 18-yard box and the referee signaled to stop the clock.
Senior forward Dana Larsen stepped up to take the free kick. She ripped a shot towards frame and tied the game up with 13 seconds to play.
“With the ref stopping the clock, we got to set the kick up,” Jobson said. “Dana just buried it. It was an unbelievable shot. She practices that all of the time, so it was so cool to see her convert.”
The teams played 20 minutes of overtime, but the score remained deadlocked. The tie with West Virginia snapped a Mountaineer seven-game winning streak.
With the tie, West Virginia extends its unbeaten streak to 11 games. The Mountaineers last lost a game back in August against Penn State in overtime.
After boarding a chartered plane to Stillwater, Okla., the Bears took on the Oklahoma State Cowgirls on Sunday.
Baylor out shot the Cowgirls 24-6 in regulation and 25-6 through the remainder of the game to no avail. The game ended 0-0.
“I can’t really be disappointed because I thought we played well,” Jobson said. “It has been a tough weekend. We have been traveling all over the place and have played two great teams. However, I am glad our girls feel a little disappointed because that will motivate them for the final three games.”
Cowgirl senior goalkeeper Adrianna Franch, who has worked out with the U.S. Women’s National Team, recorded eight saves on the day and repeatedly came up with big plays to keep the Bears from scoring.
“Franch was unbelievable,” Jobson said. “That girl is legit. She made some big-time saves and credit to her, because I think she is a fantastic keeper.”
Junior defender Taylor Heatherly took multiple free kicks and placed them beautifully inside the 18-yard box to give the Bears opportunities, but the team couldn’t capitalize.
The Bears will take on the Texas Longhorns at 7 p.m. Friday at home. For Sunday’s game, the Bears will stay at home to take on the Iowa State Cyclones.
The Bears currently have nine points in conference play. This places the team in third, three points behind Texas. The Mountaineers lead the conference with 16 points.
Despite being third in the conference standings, Baylor has tallied the most wins and the fewest losses in the conference.
