By AnnaGrace Hale | Sports Writer
It was a sweltering noon kick-off for Baylor soccer as they faced No.1 University of North Carolina at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin. The Bears fell to the Tar Heels 6-0 in a record-tying loss.
“We knew coming into the game that we were probably playing the top team in the country, and I think they showed today that they are,” head coach Michelle Lenard said. “They are loaded with National Team players and players that will go on to play professionally, so it was a great experience for us to feel what the best was like.”
UNC (4-0-0) jumped on Baylor (1-2-1) within the first five minutes of play, taking an early 1-0 lead. The subsequent goals in the first half were found in the 21st and 35th minutes.
In the second half, UNC doubled the tally with goals in the 50th, 57th and 63rd minutes.
“You don’t want to give up a goal in the first five minutes of each half,” Lenard said. “That’s lack of experience trying to play this way. Maybe lack of experience playing against that level of competition. We can mature through that grow, get better.”
Junior goalkeeper Lauren Traywick saw lots of action between the goalposts. The Round Rock native made nine saves — a career-high. UNC recorded 27 shots with 16 on target.
Although Baylor attacked the net throughout the game with twelve shots, they failed to capitalize on many opportunities.
Lenard said she will continue to push her new attacking mindset, even if that means making a few compromises.
“Our mentality was to come in and want to commit to our style of play, even if that meant we lose the game,” Lenard said. “We are growing right now, and we wanted to take those risks…Though we are not happy about the number of goals we conceded, we still created our own opportunities and we competed well in good portions of the game.”
The Bears will look for their second win of the season against the University of Houston Thursday at 7 pm. at the Carl Lewis International Complex in Houston.
