By Foster Nicholas | Sports Writer
Led by sophomore midfielder Tyler Isgrig’s two-goal game, Baylor soccer took down Iowa State 4-2 Thursday night at Betty Lou Mays Field.
Coming off their first win in conference play, head coach Michelle Lenard and the Bears (7-5-2, 2-3-1 Big 12) entered Thursday’s matchup with two goals through five league games. They went out and doubled their scoring total in one night against the Cyclones (4-9-1, 1-5-0 Big 12).
Early on, the game was full of contact, and Iowa State took control of the ball. The Cyclones were the first to find the scoreboard in the 20th minute when senior forward Salomé Prat squeezed a soft touch past Baylor sophomore goalkeeper Ashlee Zirkel.
“Even though we didn’t score immediately, we gained some momentum, put them on their heels, and that gave us confidence,” Lenard said. “Even when they scored, I felt like it was just a matter of time before we were going to score.”
The Bears had their goalkeeper’s back and responded just minutes later when Isgrig received a pass from freshman forward Callie Conrad on top of the 18-yard box. Isgrig swerved past a defender and sent a shot toward the back of the net, tying the score 1-1 in the 22nd minute. Isgrig tossed her hand straight up in the air as teammates embraced her, and that was the start of continued success.
Five minutes later, in the 27th minute, senior defender Blythe Obar began another attack as she dished a pass to senior midfielder Ashley Merrill, who was running down the right side of the field. Merrill took the touch and crossed the ball toward the goal, where freshman midfielder Salma Simonin stood. However, it was the Cyclone goalie who was the first to make contact with the ball, parrying it up above her head. Simonin leaped and sent a header over the goalkeeper into the back of the net to give Baylor a 2-1 lead.
After scoring her first collegiate goal, Simonin and the Bears continued to pressure Iowa State in the first half, but it was to no avail, as the lead stayed put at one after the first 45 minutes.
“We talked about at halftime, the next goal changes everything,” Lenard said. “If we give up a goal, it’s a dogfight to the end of the game, and if we get a goal, it’s a high mountain for them to climb. So we wanted to come out with energy and try to score early.”
Just 42 seconds into the second half, Isgrig squeaked past a defender and lined up a shot from outside the 18-yard box. She reared back and launched a missile from the right side of the field toward the left corner, finding the back of the net for the second time of the night to extend Baylor’s lead to 3-1.
“I was just really feeling it tonight,” Isgrig said. “[I was] trying to get more crosses in, attacking the box. Might as well take my shot today — that was my mindset going into the game.”
Isgrig and the Bears weren’t done just yet, as the sophomore decided to get her teammates involved in the 60th minute when Baylor supplied a quick counterattack. Isgrig lobbed a ball into the 18-yard box and found Merrill gunning for the goal. Merrill slid, took the pass off her right boot and found the back of the net to mark her team-leading eighth goal of the year.
Iowa State was able to claw one goal closer in the 82nd minute when Prat connected on her second goal of the day, bringing the score to 4-2.
“When we got scored on, we were able to brush that off and be able to bounce back quicker because we were able to respond a lot better than some of the other games of the season,” Isgrig said. “That was really good.”
The Bears held off threats from the Cyclones the rest of the way.
“We stuck with our game model the full 90 minutes,” Lenard said. “Of course, there were some scary moments, but there’s always risk involved in the way that we want to play. I thought we executed it really well and we created some nice goals. Yeah, I’d say that’s probably one of the best games we’ve played.”
The Bears will hit the road and be back in action against UCF (8-4, 4-2 Big 12). Kickoff is scheduled for noon on Sunday at UCF Soccer and Track Complex in Orlando, Fla.
