Travis Taylor | Lariat Photo Editor
Sports Writer
No. 19 Baylor fell to No. 18 BYU 2-1 on Friday to finish nonconference play. Baylor (8-2-2) played tough and fought for the entire match, but BYU (6-3-1) scored a goal in each half to come away with a win in the teams’ first ever meeting.
“It was a great game,” Baylor co-head coach Marci Jobson said. “We have to get everyone playing well at the same time. Everyone is playing hard, but not everyone is playing well at the same moment. We need a little bit more consistency.”
BYU led with 12 shots to Baylor’s 10, but the Bears had the advantage in corner kicks with nine compared to the Cougars two.
Baylor’s lone goal came off a free kick that sophomore forward Bri Campos took from 20 yards out from the top left corner of the net. This is Campos’ fifth goal of the year, which leads the team.
“Honestly, it was pure adrenaline I think,” Campos said. “I don’t really take free kicks, but nobody was there to take, in the one who normally takes it, so I just stepped up and when the goalie was more to her left, I just placed it as best as I could.”
Senior defender Taylor Heatherly took the first shot of the game, but BYU senior goalkeeper Erica Owens saved it. The Cougars responded and took the next two shots. After the two teams exchanged the next two shots, senior midfielder Cloee Colohan scored her second goal of the year off a free kick in the box at the 30-minute mark.
Campos scored the equalizer, but BYU senior forward Collette Jepson Smith scored the game winner at the 72nd minute with Colohan getting the assist. Baylor had chances to score late in the game, taking the last three shots of the game, but it wasn’t able to come away with a goal.
“Fuels the fire, definitely,” senior midfielder Kat Ludlow said. “That loss just fueled our fire. We’re not dying dogs bite, that’s what Marci always says and we will definitely bite. We’re not losers. We’re not people that are just going to die down and say ‘oh we lost, we’re going to lose again, we’re going to lose again.’ No we’re going to come back and we’re going to show our heart. I think this team has the biggest heart I’ve ever seen, so we have the capability to turn this around.”
This marks the first time since Oct. 22 and Oct. 24, 2010 that Baylor has dropped two games in a row at home. Baylor is also 1-1-0 when facing teams it has never faced before this season, with its only win coming against Boise State on Sept. 22. This was also Baylor’s only nonconference loss of the season.
“It’s one game and if you think about it,” Campos said. “We still have the rest of the season to go. I think we can just look up from here. We got a loss, but it doesn’t really mean much to us, if anything it’s just a sting in our hearts to play harder next time and play harder for the rest of the Big 12 games coming up.”
Baylor hopes to rebound as it resumes conference play against Texas at 7 p.m. Friday at the Mike A. Myers Soccer Field in Austin, Texas.
