By Marissa Essenburg | Sports Writer
Baylor soccer is back in the win column after completing a Sunflower State sweep with a 3-0 win over Kansas State Sunday morning in Manhattan, Kan., capping a six-goal weekend for the Bears.
The Bears (7-1-2, 2-1 Big 12) last met Kansas State (5-3-2, 0-2-1 Big 12) in 2023, in another shutout win that reinforced their success in Manhattan. That success continued Sunday, as they left Buser Family Park unbeaten on Wildcat turf.
A warm-85-degree afternoon saw a defensive chess match through the opening 45 minutes, but it was Baylor who came out crisp and connected, moving the ball with purpose down the pitch and pinning the Kansas State back line under pressure early.
Both sides imposed themselves defensively, cutting off passing lanes and disrupting buildup as chances proved scarce in the first 30 minutes, with each managing two shots and only Baylor testing the keeper.
Kansas State’s trademark aggression was on display with seven fouls in the first half, right in line with its 13-per-game average. Baylor absorbed the contact and closed the half with momentum, pressing reigning Big 12 goalkeeper of the week Maddie Sibbing and forcing three shots on target in the final four minutes.
Baylor owned the early tempo, but Kansas State responded to tilt the run of play. With neither attack finding much rhythm — and the Wildcats still without a shot on frame — the sides went into halftime level at 0-0.
The Wildcats dictated play early in the second half and put a shot on goal, but senior goalkeeper Azul Alvarez’s 53rd-minute save preserved the 0-0 deadlock. It was one of four stops for Alvarez in the match, who has surrendered just a single goal all season.
That stop set the stage for Baylor’s breakthrough, connecting a string of passes before freshman midfielder Olivia Hess buried a through ball from junior midfielder Aryanna Jimison in the Wildcat penalty box to give the Bears a 1-0 lead.
From there, the floodgates opened. After only four shots on goal in the first half, the Bears tallied two in the span of four minutes, with senior midfielder Tyler Isgrig slotting home a 58th-minute penalty created by junior midfielder Theresa McCullough’s through ball for Baylor’s second goal.
As Kansas State’s fouls piled up, Baylor made them pay from the spot. After Isgrig’s 58th-minute penalty doubled the lead, graduate midfielder Kai Hayes’ boot iced the match with a second conversion in the 81st.
With back-to-back 3-0 victories, Baylor continues Big 12 play on a tear, boasting more goals than Michelle Lenard’s tenure has seen to this point in the season and just one loss through its first three conference games.
The Bears will head back home and hit the pitch Thursday against Iowa State. Kickoff versus the Cyclones (4-2-2, 1-1-0 Big 12) is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Betty Lou Mays Field.
