By Collin Bryant | Sports Writer
Baylor soccer (2-0-1) tied Rice (1-1-1) 0-0 Thursday night, after 110 minutes of play. The game was originally scheduled for Friday night but due to the impending threat of Hurricane Harvey, was moved to Thursday night.
The Bears dominated possession in the first half, having 10 shots on goal compared to Rice’s one shot on goal. However, the tables turned in the second half with Rice playing the role of the aggressor.
Rice came out of the half charged, not only beating the Bears in time of possession, but also outshooting them six to five. Rice also kept Baylor under 20 shots on goal, a feat that has not been accomplished by any of Baylor’s opponents this season.
Neither Baylor or Rice could score going into the first overtime. Rice once again had more shots on goal with three compared to Baylor’s one. Similarly, in the second overtime, both teams restricted each other to just one shot on goal.
Senior midfielder Aline De Lima led both sides with six shots, including three on goal and several attempts narrowly missing or hitting the post.
Baylor head coach Paul Jobson spoke about the stiff competition, crediting Rice for its play and explaining Baylor’s situation.
“I think any time you play an in-state team, you’re fighting for in-state bragging rights,” Jobson said. “All of our players know each other really well so it bumps up the level of competition. I’ve said from the beginning, we’re going to have a target on our backs because we’re Baylor, we’re a good team, we play in a big-time conference.”
The hard-fought play led to some physical play, with the match producing 36 total fouls between both teams. Baylor had 20 of those fouls credited to them with 16 being credited to the Owls. Within those fouls, a total of five yellow cards were issued. Rice received two while Baylor senior defender Precious Akanyrige, junior forward Jackie Crowther and De Lima each received one as well.
Despite the tie, Rice head coach Nicky Adams was pleased with the result.
“I’m super proud of this team,” Adams said on Riceowls.com. “I thought we were resilient, we were passionate, we stepped up to the physicality that Baylor brings, and we challenged all day long.”
When asked about what opposing teams think about the program, coach Jobson explained the state of his team.
“We’re not the underdog anymore. We’re not going to surprise anybody,” Jobson said. “We’ve known their staff for a long time, so we know each other and we know what we’re each trying to do. That’s part of the fun of the game.”
Baylor will now host Houston Baptist University at 6 p.m. Monday at Betty Lou Mays Field. The two schools were supposed to meet on Sunday in Houston but postponed due to Hurricane Harvey.
