By Foster Nicholas | Sports Writer
In the final week of what has consisted of a six-game home stand, Baylor soccer will tests its hand against No. 6 BYU Thursday night at Betty Lou Mays Field.
With Big 12 play set to take place from here on out, head coach Michelle Lenard and the Bears (5-3-1, 0-1-0 Big 12) will take the lessons learned throughout the season and put their skills to the test down the stretch. The road won’t be easy, but for the green and gold, that’s the only road to the top.
“We want to be the best in the country,” Lenard said. “So playing the best in the country is a great opportunity for us to see where we are, where we want to go and an opportunity to come away with a point or two or three. And we genuinely feel like we have a chance to do that.
“We’re not afraid of them. They’re good. It’s going to be difficult. We’re going to need to play well. But if we play at our best, we feel that we have a legitimate shot at coming away with a tie or a win, which is a big result in our conference right now.”
BYU (7-1-1, 0-0-1 Big 12) will scamper into Waco after going 0-1-1 last week and falling from the No. 1 spot in the nation. While the Cougars look to get back on the right track, Baylor is keeping a levelheaded focus.
“We’re excited just to come out and work and compete,” freshman forward Skylar Zinnecker said. “While they’re going to be a good opponent, I don’t think it’s anything we need to be scared of. We’ll respect them, as they’re going to be a good team, but nothing we’re going to be afraid of.”
For the first time ever, the green and gold will clash with the Cougars in conference play. The newly-added Big 12 foe will pose a continuous threat to the title, but each team has the opportunity to land the first blow before the big stage.
“I’m really excited,” sophomore midfielder Skye Leach said. “I think it’s awesome. It goes back to the saying where you can’t be the best without playing the best. I think it’s a great opportunity to put in our hard work and then see an outcome.”
The Bears have embraced the role of underdog and look to sour the spoils of BYU’s strong start to the 2023 campaign. Baylor is coming off a 1-0 win over UTSA on Sunday.
“Nobody in this conference is a team that we can overlook, regardless of whether they’re ranked or not,” Lenard said. “Moving forward, we have to make sure that we play the way that we want to play regardless of who our opponent is.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at Betty Lou Mays Field.
