By Dylan Fink | Sports Writer
Baylor soccer opened conference play Friday night with a 1-0 loss to in-state rival Texas Tech.
The rivalry match started on a physically aggressive note as Texas Tech (7-1) received two fouls in the first eight minutes. The Red Raiders finished the game with 10 fouls to Baylor’s (5-1-2) nine.
“That’s just how conference play is,” Baylor head coach Michelle Lenard said. “They’re bigger than us and we didn’t play into that … it’s a hard lesson learned.”
Texas Tech redshirt junior defender Kylie Bahr kept the action quiet for junior forward Lauren Omholt early on.
Omholt eventually was able to pull away for a shot-on-goal setup via a weaving pass from graduate defender Blythe Obar in the 27th minute. Omholt’s attempt from the right side of the pitch missed off the left corner of the goal by mere inches.
“There are moments that we need to score a goal,” Lenard said. “Unfortunately, missing in those moments played into their hands.”
The first half, which ended nil-nil, saw limited action by the two teams. The Red Raiders came into half leading the shots battle six to five, but the Bears led in shots-on-goal three to one.
Early in the second half, Texas Tech defender Macy Blackburn received a yellow card in the 48th minute after a hard foul on junior midfielder Theresa McCullough. Blackburn loudly demonstrated her disagreement with the call to the referee, much to the disgrace of the crowd, but stayed in the game.
“It’s just part of it,” Lenard said. “This is a tough conference and there are going to be tough, physical games.”
The Bears quickly in the second half traded their lead in shots-on-goal with a lead in saves as the Red Raider offense came out looking to attack early.
Senior goalkeeper Azul Alvarez had her hands full collecting three saves in the first 20 minutes of the second half, finishing the saves contest 6–4.
“She’s been consistent throughout the season,” Lenard said. “She’s done what she needed to do for us, so I feel no concern whatsoever that she’ll feel bogged down by this loss.”
The Red Raiders continued their offensive pursuit, nearly doubling the Bears’ total shots on the night, 19-10.
“Our defenders did a good job attacking the base at the right moments,” Lenard said. “We let their attack kind of take over in the second half.”
Texas Tech took the deciding 1-0 lead off a penalty kick scored by forward Peyton Parsons in the 71st minute.
“We gave into their pressure and it led to them getting momentum,” Lenard said. “I did think it was a little unfortunate to have a penalty in that situation, but we did have chances to get out of that.”
With little time left to score, the Bears began to handle the ball frantically.
“Honestly we just fell into their play style,” junior midfielder Theresa McCullough said. “We just conceded to play long. We should’ve stuck with our own playing style.”
The dagger for the Bears came in the 4th minute, as McCullough attempted an athletic bicycle kick just outside the penalty box that was saved off a finger by Texas Tech senior goalkeeper Faith Nguyen.
Moving forward after the loss, the Bears are focusing on what they can control.
“We need to be making those runs in the front line, that’ll help a lot.” McCullough said. “Ultimately, physicality. Especially in the Big 12, it really just comes down to that.”
The Bears’ next matchup will be against Kansas at 7 p.m. Thursday at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence, Kan. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.
