By Marissa Essenburg | Sports Writer
No. 10 Baylor soccer traveled 86 miles up I-35 for a top-20 matchup with longtime Big 12 rival No. 14 TCU Thursday, but the Bears couldn’t break through offensively, suffering a 3-0 loss at Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium.
Riding a five-game win streak, Baylor (10-2-2, 5-2 Big 12) rolled into Fort Worth with momentum on its side against the defending Big 12 champions. The program was chasing its first win at TCU (11-2-1, 5-1-1 Big 12) in three seasons following a 4-2 thriller over BYU that saw six Bears earn Big 12 honors.
But TCU struck first and set the tone early, leaving Baylor on its heels as the Horned Frogs dictated possession, outshooting the Bears 10-4 and forcing senior goalkeeper Azul Alvarez to work overtime in the first 45 minutes.
Two of those chances turned into goals in the 22nd and 26th minutes from TCU forward Seven Castain, who opened the scoring with a flick over Alvarez before doubling the lead minutes later as the Horned Frogs built early momentum.
TCU would never ease up coming out of the half, pressing into the box on an attack that ended with midfielder Cate Sarinopoulos slotting home TCU’s third goal of the night just eight minutes into the half.
Coming into the match with 214 shots on the season, an average of 16 per game, the Bears found themselves in unfamiliar territory, unable to break past five shots by the 63rd minute.
It was a physical match that saw the clock stop time and again as injuries took their toll on the Bears. Junior midfielder Theresa McCullough went down with what appeared to be cramps in the 65th minute, and moments later, fellow junior midfielder Aryanna Jimison winced in pain after colliding with a TCU defender.
Jimison would never return to the match.
It was a defensive showcase for Alvarez, who was forced to make seven saves in the second half as time ticked down — a half that never swung back Baylor’s way — with TCU testing her 23 times while the Bears struggled to generate any offensive momentum.
The numbers reflected the imbalance. TCU outshot Baylor 25–8, including a 14–1 margin in shots on goal, while Alvarez turned away 10 attempts in a relentless night between the posts.
Entering Thursday’s matchup, neither side had fallen to a ranked opponent — but that changed for Baylor under the Fort Worth lights.
The loss marked the Bears’ first setback in over a month, snapping their five-game win streak and dropping them to 10-2-2 on the season and 5-2 in Big 12 play. Despite carrying momentum into the match, Baylor struggled to match TCU’s tempo and failed to create any real chances in front of the goal.
Baylor will look to bounce back when it returns home Sunday to face Utah (7-5-3, 2-2-2 Big 12). Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Betty Lou Mays Field.
