By Dylan Fink | Sports Writer
No. 23 Baylor soccer’s electrifying season came to an end Sunday afternoon, as the Bears lost a double-overtime thriller to Ohio State, 2-1, in the Sweet 16.
The Buckeyes (11-4-6, 4-2-5 Big Ten) began on an aggressive attack, keeping the ball in the Bears’ (14-5-4, 7-3-1 Big 12) half of the pitch for much of the start of the game.
Junior forward Theresa McCullough attempted the lone shot on goal from the Bears in the first 25 minutes, a deep shot from the left side. The Buckeyes attempted three in that time span, all narrowly missing the back of the net.
In the 23rd minute, Buckeye redshirt sophomore defender Nette-Nina Hiltunen went down with an apparent knee injury and did not return for the rest of the match.
Ohio State’s attacking pursuit did not take a step back following the injury break, as junior forward Amanda Schlueter made a crossing cut that dropped Baylor’s McCullough to the ground before taking a shot on goal that barely skimmed over the top of the net.
The Bears found their stride by the 35th minute. Head coach Michelle Lenard, in a similar style seen by the green and gold all season, allowed her squad to play back and figure out the Buckeyes’ approach.
Baylor continued to develop its attack, tying the Buckeyes in shots on goal with four each. Junior midfielder Aryanna Jimison closed the half for the Bears with an athletic attempt over 30 feet out that slipped just outside the right post.
The two teams went into halftime knotted at an even nil-nil.
The Buckeyes rediscovered their early aggression to start the second half, firing two shots on goal within the first five minutes. The Bears began getting rattled.
Catching senior goalkeeper Azul Alvarez out of position, Schlueter knocked in her 10th goal of the season in the 65th minute to give the Buckeyes a 1-0 lead with 25 minutes left.
The Bears wasted no time before answering with a goal of their own.
Graduate midfielder Kai Hayes knocked a surprise dribbler past reigning Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year Molly Pritchard, tying the match at 1-1 in the 70th minute. Junior forward Lauren Omholt set up the goal with a weaving assist.
The final 20 minutes of the second half grew stagnant between the two teams, each fighting to move on to the Elite Eight — stagnant, that is, until the final minute. With 47 seconds remaining, what looked like a potential Buckeye game-winner was saved at the final moment by graduate defender Blythe Obar, who slid in and booted the ball out of bounds.
On the back of Obar’s heroic efforts to keep Baylor’s season alive, the two teams went into overtime.
The first overtime, played under sudden-death rules where the first team to score wins, was a neck-and-neck defensive battle. Neither side seemed able to find the momentum needed to seal the game.
Alvarez was nearly unstoppable in goal for the Bears throughout the first overtime, deflecting four shots to force a second overtime.
The Bears’ defensive efforts, though, could not withstand the Buckeyes’ repeated attempts. In the fifth minute of the second overtime, Ohio State forward Anika Poremba caught the Bears’ defensive line out of position and punched in the winning goal to send the Buckeyes to the Elite Eight and Baylor back home to Waco.
The NCAA Tournament trip was the first of Lenard’s tenure at Baylor and the first Sweet Sixteen appearance for the Bears since 2018. After back-to-back wins in double overtime, Ohio State will continue its Cinderella run against No. 3-seed Florida State in the regional finals.
