Matt Hellman | Lariat Photo Editor
By Greg DeVries
Sports Writer
After defeating Arizona State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the No. 3 seed Baylor women’s soccer team will take on the Georgetown Hoyas at 3 p.m. today at Fetzer Field at the University of North Carolina, the host school for the region.
Baylor is currently ranked No. 11 in the country, just three spots ahead of the 14th-ranked Hoyas. Georgetown earned a spot in this game by defeating Virginia Tech 3-2 in overtime.
“At this point, there are only really great teams left in the tournament,” head coach Marci Jobson said. “They have a stellar defense, a very good offense, and they have an outstanding center midfielder. It’s going to be a tough, tight game. I think we’re going to have to play lights-out in a lot of ways.”
The strong offense that Jobson is referring to is led by Hoya sophomore midfielder Daphne Corboz. Corboz is the 10th best scorer in the nation. She has 17 goals and eight assists in Georgetown’s 22 games.
Jobson said that her team will not change what they have been doing for the game.
Instead, the Bears will stay with the game plan that helped earn them an 18-1-4 record this season.
“We have to execute our game plan,” Jobson said. “Any team that’s left at this point has a good defense and offense, so we’re just going to have to be ourselves and play like we’ve played all year, and I think things will end up good.”
Last year, Baylor lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to North Carolina.
If the Bears beat Georgetown, not only will they surpass last year’s mark, but they will also likely get a rematch with the North Carolina Tar Heels.
While the team is not looking past the Hoyas, they are handling the nerves of postseason play well.
“I think we’re just so excited to have this extended time together that we’re just looking to each game as a next obstacle to conquer with each other,” junior defender Kat Ludlow said. “Nobody is really full of nerves. We’re just excited to have one more game and one more chance to play.”
This Baylor team has two of the school’s best goal scorers in its history.
Senior forwards Dana Larsen and Lisa Sliwinski are both in the top five for goals scored, and both players have produced this year.
Larsen leads the team with 10 goals and nine assists, but Sliwinski is right behind her with nine goals and four assists.
Offense can come from a number of players, however.
This Baylor team has 13 players that have each recorded multiple goals on the year.
According to senior defender Carlie Davis, the key for this team is focus.
“We need to not get caught up in everything that’s going on,” Davis said. “We just need to keep focusing on what we’ve been focusing all year, which is preparing the right way, recovering our bodies the right way, coming out with the exact same mentality every single game and controlling what we can control. If we do that, then I think we’ll be fine.”
