By Foster Nicholas | Sports Writer
Dominating time of possession and applying constant pressure, No. 6 BYU earned its first win in Big 12 play and shut down Baylor soccer 4-0 Thursday night at Betty Lou Mays Field.
With conference play in full swing, head coach Michelle Lenard and the Bears (5-4-1, 0-2-0 Big 12) took the pitch with what was the No. 1 team in the country last week. After a rough seven days, the Cougars (8-1-1, 1-0-1 Big 12) came to Waco with their eyes on the first league win as a part of the Big 12.
“They’re very good. We knew that,” Lenard said. “They’re the standard. I mean, that’s why they were ranked No. 1 in the country for a good stretch of the season, and they’ll be back up at the top. That’s where we want to go, so it’s good experience for us to play those games.”
Baylor came out flat, and despite finding touches, BYU maintained possession on the attack for a majority of the first half. The green and gold only tallied three shots (one on goal) in the first 45 minutes — the first one not arriving until the 25th minute — while the Cougars racked up a whopping 20 shots (nine on goal) in that same span.
BYU was able to convert on three of those shot attempts in the first half, coming in the 12th, 20th and 48th minutes. Despite the three first-half goals, senior goalkeeper Makinzie Short made the Cougars work and totaled six saves on the evening.
“It gives us an idea of where the standard is, and we need to know that,” Lenard said. “We knew going in, we weren’t going to be where they are yet. Our goal is to minimize the difference, continue to grow and learn from each game. They’re better than us right now, but we showed for stretches that we could compete and we could play. Now, we just have to continue to get better.”
In the 39th minute, one of the few bright spots for the Bears came to fruition. Freshman midfielder Salma Simonin lined up a shot from just outside the 18-yard box, and while on target, the ball slammed off the crossbar.
“Salma is a very good player,” Lenard said. “She’s great on the ball. Her decision-making is high-level. We’re starting to get her more minutes now and hoping that continues. But her composure on the ball and her technical ability are probably the best on the team. Now, she can just continue to adapt physically. I think that she can be a difference-maker for us.”
Simonin played 58 minutes off the bench and looked to give Baylor a spark. However, the BYU defense stayed strong in the second half of action, and the Bears’ attack stalled out.
Baylor kept the score 3-0 until the 76th minute. The Cougars quickly took a turnover and found the back of the net, penalizing the Bears for poor communication and lackluster ball movement.
With two conference games under its belt, the green and gold is still searching for its first win and goal in conference play after the 4-0 loss.
Baylor will continue league play and conclude its six-game home stand on Sunday with a match against No. 25 Texas Tech. The Bears will take on the conference rival that is hot on the heels of a big win against No. 14 Texas on Thursday night.
Kickoff between Baylor and Texas Tech (8-0-2, 2-0-0 Big 12) is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday at Betty Lou Mays Field.
