Sept. 29, 2006
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WACO, Texas -- The Baylor soccer team jumped out to an early lead and never looked back as the Bears cruised to a 3-0 victory over Iowa State in action at Betty Lou Mays Field. With the victory, Baylor improves to 4-6-1 on the season, 1-2-0 in Big 12 play, as Iowa State falls to 5-7-0, 1-1-0 in conference play with the loss.
"We really needed this victory and the entire team came out focused," head coach George Van Linder said. "We have been improving each and every game of the season and we came out today and played our best game of the year. Hopefully, we can repeat this performance when we face Missouri on Sunday."
After Iowa State had a pair of early scoring chances, including a free kick that glanced off the crossbar, Baylor put its first goal on the board when Lauren Weathers corralled a loose ball at the top of the box and delivered a strike into the upper-left hand corner of the net in the 16th minute to give the Bears a 1-0 lead.
Pat Roscovius, who made the move to forward for the first time this season, extended the lead to two with a goal in the 39th minute. On a cross by Betsy Kyle, Anna Schuch headed a ball that deflected off an Iowa State defender and hit the post. Roscovius was right there to collect the rebound as the junior blasted the ball into the empty net to give Baylor a 2-0 lead.
With Iowa State trailing 2-0 heading into halftime, the Cyclones looked to close the Baylor lead in the second half; however, the Bears defense played strong throughout, allowing only one shot on goal during the first 20 minutes of the second frame.
Baylor put the finishing touches on the victory in the 86th minute as McConnell's second goal of the season gave the Bears a 3-0 victory. Off a throw-in by Nicky Smith, Roscovius blasted a shot off an Iowa State defender that deflected over to McConnell who easily put the ball into an empty net as Baylor scored three goals in a contest for the first time since a 3-1 win over Texas Tech on Oct. 21, 2005.
Weathers and Roscovius scored their first career goals in the victory as Roscovius and Smith added their first career assists in the win.
For the contest, Baylor out-shot Iowa State, 19-12, as the Bears also held a 2-0 edge in corner kicks.
Ashley Holder picked up the win for Baylor, making five saves in net, as Gianna Quintana saw her first career action in net for the Bears, playing the final five minutes in goal to record the combined shutout.
Ann Gleason took the loss for Iowa State while making seven saves on the night.
Baylor will return to action on Sunday, Oct. 1, when the Bears travel to Missouri to face the Tigers at 1:00 p.m.
