By Matthew Soderberg | Sports Writer
Baylor soccer comes away with a 2-0 victory over last-place Iowa State on Sunday. Marissa Gray scored her first career goal, and Raegan Padgett scored her sixth of the season in her last match at Betty Lou Mays.
Sunday was Senior Day for the Baylor Bears, and head coach Paul Jobson made it a point to rotate through his seniors throughout the game. Jobson said after the match those seven girls have been a driving force this year.
“It’s a pretty, pretty unique group. I mean, they’ve all got totally different stories, and I think their uniqueness really defines who we are as a team,” Jobson said. “It was not a cookie-cutter group at all. Some have been here two years as transfers. Some have been here all four years. They’ve all played different roles.”
As the season winds to a close, the win played a significant part in the seeding of the upcoming Big 12 Tournament. Baylor is set up as the six seed with a matchup against the current No.1 seed, Oklahoma State, left on Thursday.
After controlling much of the match against Texas Tech Friday, the Bears were able to get back on track using much of the same formula. The strategy of controlling possession and making runs along the sideline didn’t pay off against the Red Raiders, but Sunday was a different story.
Baylor outshot the Cyclones 25-7, with an 11-1 advantage in shots on goal. Jobson said his team is moving in the right direction at the right time.
“Their mentality is right where it needs to be and they understood, you know, that our game can just be a disappointing game sometimes, where you can dominate a team and not come up with the result that you feel you deserve. But they’ve been really resilient this year,” Jobson said.
Baylor has now won two of their last three matches by a scoring margin of 6-2, but No. 13 Oklahoma State is one of the toughest matches so far this season. Padgett said after the game that Senior Day meant a lot to the team, but that it’s time to focus as there is still work to do.
“The season could be far from over, so you have to keep your focus still on the wins, so it is a little emotional, but also we’re just trying to stay focused on the season,” Padgett said.
Baylor soccer will play their last regular-season game of the season at 7 p.m. Thursday in Stillwater, OK. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.
