Sept. 19, 2006
We all know that Baylor is a special place, for the soccer team there truly is no place like home. We never back away from playing a challenging non-conference schedule; but, with the opponents and the travel the last couple of weeks, it was a challenge for the team to bounce back from the adversity and stay positive. Overall, it has been a great experience for our team and all of our younger players.
The coaching staff has continually told the players we have a good group of players; but, we just have to get the combinations right to have a good team. With as many as five freshmen in the starting line-up, we knew we would have to continue to "tweak" the line-up during the non-conference part of the schedule. We were just hoping any of our losses we absorbed would not be by the margins we had a couple of times as we learned what would be the best possible line-up for the squad.
Our game against UT-San Antonio was a good game and learning experience. UT-San Antonio is doing a tremendous job as a first year program. We were trying some new things on the field and we were happy to come away with the win and much more knowledge about ourselves. After the game, we had a meeting Saturday morning and the team was excited about the opportunities created; but, we know in the future we may not get as many chances and we have to make the most of the ones we get. The defense was able to keep the shutout and is something we take a lot of pride in and we were overdue for one.
Samford is a strong team. They advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championships last year and had most of that team returning. On Friday night, they lost to nationally-ranked Auburn yet managed more shots than Auburn, so we knew we were in for a test. We started the game off with an intensity we want to show in every game. It paid off. We created a lot of chances and had some near misses. We came away with one goal and a very hard fought victory. Freshmen Betsy Kyle registered her first assist as a Baylor Bear and Anna Schuch had her second game-winning goal this year. Goalkeeper Ashley Holder registered her sixth career shutout, three of which she has had this year. Late in the game, Samford was making a push for it and I was very happy with how the team handled the challenge.
The reason we play a challenging non-conference schedule is because of this weekend's games. We begin the Big 12 Conference season and the schedule-makers were not kind to us, with Texas A&M and Texas in the same weekend. Both teams have been in the Top 10 in the national rankings this year. We have told the ladies that our non-conference schedule prepares us for what we are going to see on the field this weekend. We feel good about where we are as a team and we hope with a good week of practice we can give those teams all they can handle and then some. You do not have to watch Big 12 soccer very long to understand on any given day anything can happen. We are going to need the fans help this week to come out and cheer us on. We had great crowds so far this year and we are asking you to come back again and bring your friends!
Finally, I want to pass along our sympathy to the Troy Mays family. Troy Mays passed away Friday, September 15th. He was a tremendous friend to Baylor University and without question the biggest benefactor to Baylor soccer and we would not have our beautiful field without his support. We are a bit biased; but, we feel it is one of the most beautiful fields in all of college soccer and we would not have been able to have this without his support.
Sic'em Bears! George Van Linder
