By Will Chamblee | Sports Writer
Baylor women’s soccer suffered their third road loss of the season to the hands of Texas on Friday night, as they fell 1-0 in a tightly contested affair.
Baylor’s road woes continued, as the team has yet to win an away game, going 0-3-1 in road matches this season.
With the loss, the Bears fell below Texas in the Big 12 standings to sixth with a 2-3-3 record on the year.
Baylor head coach Paul Jobson said he was still proud of his team’s performance despite the final score.
“I was really proud of these girls,” Jobson said. “I really thought we outplayed a really good UT team most of the match, but some things didn’t go our way and the result obviously went to them. We will recover and get prepared for OU next week.”
In what was a promising start to the game, Baylor won its first penalty kick of the season four minutes into the game when junior forward Taylor Moon was fouled in the box. Sophomore midfielder Maddie Algya stepped forward to take the penalty but sent her attempt wide of the goal.
It only took 30 seconds for Texas to capitalize on the missed penalty, as senior winger Cameron Brooks scored her second goal of the season when she slammed the ball past Baylor senior goalkeeper Jennifer Wandt on a breakaway.
Texas almost doubled their lead 14 minutes into the first half, when freshman forward Presley Echols hit a shot right into Wandt’s hands.
Despite the early chances afforded to Texas, Baylor was able to take firm control of the game’s flow.
Baylor’s best chance of the half came when freshman forward Olivia Mack played an incisive through ball to Moon, who had her shot saved with 10 minutes left in the half.
The Bears led Texas by two shots going into the half, with 12, seven of which were on target.
Both teams struggled to get anything going offensively in the second half. However, as the game came to a close, Baylor’s offense came alive to make one final push as the team threw everything forward desperately looking for an equalizer.
Freshman forward Mackenzie Anthony flicked the ball over Texas senior goalkeeper Savannah Madden, only for it to go inches wide of the goal.
Shortly after, with 10 minutes remaining in the game, Moon received the ball inside the box, turned her defender and fired a shot on goal, forcing Madden to make a spectacular save to preserve Texas’ lead.
Madden was integral to the Longhorns’ win and had one of the best games of her career, as she contributed ten saves and held the shutout.
It seemed like Baylor might get the equalizer when freshman midfielder Gabby Mueller was played through to a one on one with Madden. However, a controversial offsides call ended the play.
Baylor will end the Fall portion of their season next Friday at 5 p.m. against Oklahoma at Betty Lou Mays Field in Waco. The game will be televised on ESPN+.
