By Carson Vercoe | Sports Writer
Baylor struggled to pull ahead in a tightly contested second half against Pepperdine. One goal was called back because the Bears were offside and senior forward Aryanna Jimison could not connect on a golden opportunity, missing the crossbar by inches on a free kick at the top of the penalty box.
Baylor was finally able to get the offense going in the 70th minute, stringing passes together from freshman midfielder Brynlee Bohannon and senior forward Theresa McCullough, who sent a cross into the Waves’ box for senior forward Lauren Omholt to head the ball into the goal to put the Bears in front 2-1.
“That was super exciting,” Omholt said. “It was a perfect ball by Theresa, and I got around the end of it, so it felt good.”
Baylor (4-1-0) scored one more goal in the second half to secure the 3-1 victory over Pepperdine (2-1-2), marking its second win in a row.
The Bears looked to continue their hot start to the year after picking up a big-time win in Austin against Texas in a comeback victory, their third win against SEC opponents.
The Bears got things going right from the kickoff as freshman forward Grace White received a pass from senior Callie Conrad and took a shot, putting the Bears up one a minute into the game.
“Great start for us scoring an early goal, good intensity, good pressing, create a chance and finish. Really good,” head coach Michelle Lenard said.
The Waves picked up their pace after the early goal, putting pressure on the Baylor defense. The back line did not hold on for long as forward Julia Quinonez evened the game with a tap-in goal.
Both squads continued to generate offense with the Bears, putting up two shots to Pepperdine’s three. The Waves had five corner kicks to Baylor’s one, but the Bears held up as they went into the hydration break.
The second half started with both offenses playing more conservatively than at the beginning of the match. The two defenses grew more aggressive, making it difficult for the other side to string passes together in opponent territory.
The Bears were only able to get one shot on goal compared to the Waves’ two heading into the second half hydration break.
During the hydration break, the referees reviewed a play from earlier in the half and decided senior forward Aryanna Jimison was fouled. They determined there was a goal-scoring opportunity and gave Pepperdine’s Emjae Soriano a red card, setting up a Baylor free kick at the top of the box. Jimison lined up to take the free kick and sent a shot right over the crossbar
With Pepperdine down a goal and a player after the Omholt goal, the Bears dominated the possession battle, leading to a Bohannon goal off a blocked shot, putting the Bears in front by two.
“It feels really good, and I’m so glad that I got the opportunity and finish Ari’s shot and just be in that spot,” Bohannon said. “I love my team, so I’m glad they were there to support me.”
The Waves picked up their offensive attack while trailing by two. They could not get anything going against the Baylor defense as the Bears won 3-1.
“When you look at it, sometimes, people underestimate mid majors, but if you go around and look at what’s happening around the country, the last two weeks you’ll see that there are some very good mid majors,” Lenard said. “So that’s what we chose to do: play the best mid majors.”
The Bears will head a state over to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to take on LSU at 7 p.m. Thursday at LSU Soccer Stadium.
