By Foster Nicholas | Sports Writer
Second chances don’t come often. That’s what makes those moments bigger. With the opportunity to right a wrong, No. 8-seeded Baylor soccer has its shot at redemption against No. 9 seed Cincinnati on its biggest stage yet — the 2023 Sprouts Farmers Market Big 12 Soccer Championship.
“We deserved to win that game,” senior midfielder Ashley Merrill said of the Bears’ 2-2 draw with the Bearcats on Oct. 12 in Waco. “I think they think so too. They know that. I want to play, and I just think overall, we controlled that game a lot more than them. So I’m not fearful at all. I think we’re going to win the game – I know we’re going to win the game.”
Merrill thought back to that match with Cincinnati (3-7-7, 2-3-5 Big 12), a game filled with calamity, controversy and shock, which left the Bears (9-6-3, 4-4-2 Big 12) and Bearcats knotted up. In a game Baylor controlled, a late goal changed the course of the postseason run to come.
“We’re still about two spots lower than we would have liked to have been and could have been,” head coach Michelle Lenard said. “Difference between a tie and a win in one game, and we finish in the sixth spot and we have a first-round bye.
“So that’s really where we are, right in the middle of the pack, right now. And that’s a big improvement from last year. But our goal is to climb to the top. So while it’s a step, it’s just the first one and we still have further to go there.”
Baylor is back in the Big 12 Tournament after a disappointing four-win season in 2022, only tallying 15 goals on the season. Behind Lenard’s new installments and Merrill’s team-leading 11 goals, the Bears more than doubled their win (9) and goal (31) totals in 2023.
“I knew we were going to be a better team,” Lenard said. “I knew that we were going to have these types of results. But it’s really great for them to see the work that they put in and how it’s paying off here at the end of the season.
“We’re really confident, knowing that not only were we better when we started this season, but we’re better now than we were two months ago, and we’re capable of playing against anybody in the conference.”
While the tournament culminates the work put in during the season, Merrill said a new opportunity awaits.
“It’s nice to get to the tournament, but that’s bare minimum,” Merrill said. “We got into it. Obviously [we’re] proud, but we’re a good enough team that that’s not really accomplishment. Now we have a clean slate.
“It’s just an opportunity to prove people wrong, prove that we’re better than these teams that are above us, too. We have Cincinnati and then [Texas] Tech. I think we can win both those games and keep going forward.”
The winner of Baylor and Cincinnati will take on No. 1 seed Texas Tech (14-0-4, 8-0-2 Big 12) in the second round.
“Anything can happen at any point in the tournament,” sophomore forward Tyler Isgrig said. “Anything’s up for grabs at that point. I just hope everyone else understands that.”
Postseason soccer is a beast very few players on Baylor’s young roster have experienced, so the mentality will be different for those who need to lead the way, according to Merrill.
“If we lose, we’re out; period. If we lose, we’re done,” Merrill said. “So for our seniors, for our coaches, for us, for each other, we want to win. It is a mentality shift because if we’re losing in those last 10 minutes, it’s going to be everything in your body. You’re going to empty your tank and more.”
The Bears’ first-round match is scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Round Rock Multipurpose Complex in Round Rock. Baylor must win the conference tournament for a bid into the NCAA Tournament.
