Baylor soccer is back on track after beating Oklahoma on Friday and tying the No. 17 ranked Texas Tech team on Sunday at Betty Lou Mays Field.
“Nobody is willing to walk off the field without [a win], so these girls play as hard as they can. This is top to bottom in the conference.” – Paul Jobson
The Bears, who had their seven-game win streak snapped against Kansas on the road regrouped at home beating the Sooners 1-0, and tying with the Red Raiders 1-1. The Bears improve to 8-5-2 overall and 3-1-1 in the Big 12.
With a packed house Friday night for “#ScarfNight”, the Bears were determined to pull out the victory.
“Big 12 conference play, everyone plays hard, everyone wants the victory,” said head coach Paul Jobson. “Nobody is willing to walk off the field without that, so these girls play as hard as they can. This is top to bottom in the conference.”
Both teams were scoreless at the half, but the Bears pulled away three minutes into the second. Freshman midfielder Sarah King kicked in a cross, allowing freshman midfielder Julie James to put it away.
King is now tied for third in the nation with 10 assists, and continues to lead the Big 12 in assists.
The Bears defense remained strong and secured the 1-0 victory against Oklahoma.
With just one day of rest, the Bears came out attacking the Red Raiders on Sunday.
“I think we are probably one the best teams at recovering, and we take that to a different level,” said senior forward Bri Campos said. “We haven’t had a lot of two game weekends so it’s cool to see us pull out a tie even though we wanted the win.”
At the end of the first half, the Bears found themselves on top as Campos put away a penalty kick in the 26th minute.
The Bears dominated the stats and had the win in their sights, but fell short with 41 seconds remaining in the second half.
“I think we were resilient for most of the game and we were the better team for most of the game.” – Bri Campos
The Bears were called for a penalty in the box, giving the Red Raiders a free kick, which they capitalized on.
“It was just a tough match overall. That’s what you usually see from Texas Tech,” Campos said. “I think we were resilient for most of the game and we were the better team for most of the game. It’s just about being able to put away pieces towards the end.”
Going into double overtime, with the golden goal rule in place, both teams had good looks at goal, but neither team capitalized, leaving the match tied 1-1.
Baylor dominated most of the game, leading with shots 22-15, but was not able to come out with the desired outcome.
“I think we were the better team for the 90 minutes,” Jobson said. “We made a little bit of a mistake in the box, but I thought we were the better team. We had way more opportunities. We didn’t allow them to do the things they wanted to do. When they adjusted, we were able to adjust as well.”
Adding to the excitement of Sunday’s match, it was senior day. Friends and family of the four seniors on the team came out and supported the Bears throughout the match.
“It has been awesome,” said senior defender Katie Daigle. “I couldn’t ask for a better team for my senior year. I’m trying not to think about it so I stay focused on what we’re doing. It’s just another game for me.”
“This is a quality group of seniors. They great thing is, we aren’t done,” Jobson said. “Senior day makes you start thinking its over, but we are just beginning right now. This team has grown a ton and as we make a push to the end of the season here and into the Big 12 tournament, I’m really proud of what this team is going to be able to do for these leaders we have, for these seniors.”
The Bears look to win on the road against TCU (8-7-0, 2-3-0 Big 12) 7 p.m. Friday at Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium in Forth Worth.
