The Lady Bears defeated the Jayhawks 1-1.
Sarah George | Lariat Photographer
By Greg DeVries
Sports Writer
With just one regular season game remaining, the No. 15 Baylor women’s soccer team is ready for a postseason run.
The team will likely be seated No. 2 in the Big 12 tournament, but standing in its way is the TCU Horned Frogs.
The Horned Frogs are 6-8-3 on the year and just 1-4-2 in conference play, but a lot is riding on this game.
If the Bears win, they secure second place in the Big 12 tournament.
A combination of wins from Texas Tech and TCU will result in a third-place conference finish for Baylor. All in all, a lot is riding on this game for both teams.
“This is the last game, but we are not just going to ride it out from here on out,” junior midfielder Kat Ludlow said. “We want to put all of our effort into this game and then it’s the Big 12 tournament. But we’re not worrying about that right now. It’s TCU and then the Big 12.”
The Bears are riding a three-game winning streak and an unbeaten streak at home that stretches back to Aug. 26.
Baylor has won all of its games at home and will look to keep the momentum going into the postseason.
“We always want to win, but we never put the emphasis on the result,” senior defender Carlie Davis said. “Obviously it would be good to get the win to have some momentum going into the Big 12 tournament. Whatever happens, we’re going to prepare the same way.”
The Horned Frogs are coming off their first Big 12 win. TCU beat Texas, and is making a push to be the last team into the Big 12 tournament.
“They’ve got a new coaching staff, new players,” head coach Marci Jobson said. “We’ve obviously scouted them, and they’ve got some really good pieces that we’re definitely going to have to take care of, but we’ve got to go after this team.”
One of the pieces that the Bears will need to account for is TCU senior midfielder Monica Alvarado. Alvarado leads the Horned Frogs in goals with six, and she is capable of putting up a lot of shots.
To counter this, Baylor will play its trademark aggressive marking defense.
“People get frustrated when they play us because it’s not what they’re used to. They don’t practice against it. They don’t play against it. It’s new, it’s frustrating, and it’s awesome because it gets in their heads,” Ludlow said.
The game is at 7 p.m. Friday in Waco.
