By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor, Aidan Pham | LTVN Sports Reporter
Making the most of limited opportunities and slowing down No. 22 TCU’s steady attack, Baylor soccer was able to come away with its second draw against a nationally ranked team this week, landing a 1-1 tie against the Horned Frogs Sunday afternoon at Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field.
LTVN’s Aidan Pham breaks down Baylor’s draw with No. 22 TCU.
The Bears (6-4-2, 1-2-2 Big 12) only managed to attempt six shots against the TCU defense (8-2-2, 3-0-2 Big 12), but knocked one of their few shots into the goal. Despite the fight for shooting opportunities, head coach Michelle Lenard was happy with her squad for finding good chances and acting on them.
“Throughout the game, the team grew into the game, which I think is an important sign of our maturity and development,” Lenard said. “There was a period of time in the second half where we had quite a bit of possession, and we were really attacking and breaking them down. And then it led to a really good goal. So, happy with the goal, obviously, wish we could have finished it off, but a point in that game is good.”
The Bears’ lone goal of the match came in the 59th minute when junior defender Hannah Augustyn knocked a header off the woodwork and fought for a second opportunity. Augustyn went up after the ball as it hovered above the crossbar and knocked her second-chance header into the net’s top right corner.
“For my height, I like heading the ball, and I know I can get over it and have some power on it. So I just thought, ‘I want to hit the post,’” Augustyn said. “I didn’t see the keeper go for it, so I knew it was just me and the other defender, and I knew I could get over it.”
The Baylor attack was stifled early in the game, as they totalled just three shots in the first half. Sophomore midfielder Theresa McCullough ripped a penalty kick just outside the post in the 38th minute, the green and gold’s first shot of the game. Just 30 seconds later, junior midfielder Hannah Boughton launched a shot over the crossbar from outside the box.
With the exception of Baylor’s small attack window, the ball remained in TCU’s possession for most of the first half. Former TCU goalkeeper junior Azul Alvarez, who transferred to Baylor during the offseason, blocked 10 shots from her former team through the half.
Alvarez epitomized a strong defense in the first half’s final seconds when the Horned Frogs launched their fourth corner kick toward her. The junior leapt out of the goal and snagged the curving kick out of the air even as time expired, sending the game into the halftime break with a scoreless tie, 0-0.
The visitors trotted out a dangerous attack in the second half that tested Alvarez with 18 shots. Alvarez lay out in the 73rd minute to fend off one of eight TCU shots on goal, but it ricocheted into the left corner to even the score at 1-1. Putting her body on the line, the Baylor goalkeeper recorded seven saves including a shot in the 52nd minute that whacked her on the chin.
“Azul made some huge saves, especially in the first half. And in the second half too,” Lenard said. “She transferred from TCU, so that’s a heavy burden to carry into the first time you play against your former team, and I thought she did a great job of managing that.
“Our backline has just been great all season. They’ve got some really dynamic attacking players, and our players were disciplined. They stood them up, and if we did get beat, we did a good job of covering for one another.”
Baylor controlled the ball in the final five minutes of the match, but as physical fouls from each team mounted, neither was able to come away a game winner. The draw marks the second consecutive game where the Bears have fended off a team without a previous loss in Big 12 play this season.
“Two ties against nationally ranked opponents in the last two games is important for us to take away and recognize that shows growth. We’re in both of those games and have opportunities to win it, and that’s all we can ask of our team right now,” Lenard said. “So [we’re] not satisfied, but overall, [I’m] happy with the performance.”
The Bears will be back in action against No. 25 Texas Tech (8-2-1, 3-0-1 Big 12) at 7 p.m. Friday at John Walker Soccer Complex in Lubbock.
