By Ahfaaz Merchant | Sports Writer
Baylor soccer will continue conference play on the road against Texas Christian University and Oklahoma.
Head coach Paul Jobson said playing away help his team get better, especially because it’s harder to win on the road.
“I think it helps us,” said Jobson. “It’s always harder to win on the road and I think if you prepare your team for those experiences, it gives you a better chance. We’ve been road warriors. We’ve had ups and downs. I think we’ve experienced almost everything you can on the road so far this year. So I think we’re definitely prepared at this point.”
The Bears have come away with wins on the road against Kansas State, Drake and Wyoming and will look to build off a major 4-2 win over West Virginia last Thursday.
Freshman forward Elizabeth Kooiman was named Big 12 Freshman of the Week after scoring a hat trick against the Mountaineers, marking the second time this season that Baylor has received a weekly conference honor.
Baylor leads the league in shot accuracy, recording a season high .706 Thursday night. The Bears shot .750 against the Mountaineers last season and have accomplished a .700 or higher eight times since 2012.
The Horned Frogs present another type of challenge for Baylor as TCU leads the conference with 17.23 shots per match. The Horned Frogs are led by freshman midfielder Gracie Brian who has scored eight goals on the year thus far.
Senior forward Raegan Padgett said the Bears are just going to go into the match with an open mindset and play their own game.
“We kind of go into every game just wanting to play our own game,” Padgett said. “So a lot of us don’t think too much about what they’re going to play and what they’re going to do different from the next team. It’s just easier on us to think that way and play that way.”
TCU has only lost at home twice since they began their season last year and have only allowed a total of 15 goals in the 13 games they have played. The Horned Frogs present a considerable shot treat as they have posted 20 or more shots in five contests this year.
The match will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium in Fort Worth and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Southwest.
