Box Score Nov. 10, 2017 Box Score | Photo Gallery 
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation Nine days ago, Baylor soccer was on the outside looking in with a No. 55 RPI ranking and a two-game losing streak going into the Big 12 Championship.
Not only are the 23rd-ranked Bears in, they're sticking around for at least another week after holding off the in-state rival Rice Owls, 3-2, Friday in a back-and-forth NCAA Championship first-round game at Betty Lou Mays Field.
"I would have loved to have been a fan watching that game," said Baylor coach Paul Jobson, whose team improved to 14-5-2 with its fourth consecutive win and first in the NCAA tournament since a Sweet 16 appearance five years ago. "I wasn't expecting a 3-2 game at all, but I'm proud of the girls after going down 1-0 early and just never losing that mentality. Their heads never went down. They fought through and did what they needed to do to get the win tonight."
Baylor advances to face the winner of Saturday's game between third-seeded USC and Eastern Washington at a regional next weekend in College Station. Second-seeded A&M defeated Lamar, 1-0, and will face either Notre Dame or IUPUI.
"It feels kind of surreal," said sophomore forward Raegan Padgett, who scored the game-winning goal with 17:40 left in regulation off Lauren Piercy's third assist of the night. "We're at our own field, so it doesn't feel like we're in an NCAA tournament game at all. It just feels like we're at a big home game again. But, it was just awesome to have our fans and other athletes and students here to cheer us on. It was just an awesome night."
It certainly didn't start out awesome. Despite Baylor dominating possession and shots early on, it was the Owls (12-4-2) that took the lead on a point-blank shot by Aliza Wolfe off a cross from Marissa Topolski when the defense failed to clear the ball.
"They're a dynamic offensive team," Jobson said. "They're dangerous, and we knew that coming in, and we had to adjust. We didn't adjust what we were doing, but we had to pinch a little bit more to kind of battle the numbers they were sending forward. Go back and look at the number of goals they've scored, and now you know why."
The Bears' answer came just over seven minutes later when a corner kick by Piercy found Julie James, whose shot bounced through and back, giving Precious Akanyirige an opening to drive home the game-tying score.
"We always pride ourselves on out-fighting teams," said Akanyirige, who scored her third goal of the season and 10th of her career. "No one likes to get scored on, but we knew we had the whole rest of the game. We were trying to keep our heads up and keep going at it and not give up. It was awesome to get those next couple of goals."
Less than two minutes later, Piercy had a run up the middle and worked a pass over to Aline De Lima. The senior midfielder drilled a left-footed shot past a diving Rice goalkeeper Maya Hoyer to give the Bears a 2-1 lead.
Rice senior Nia Stallings had a run down the right side and had a beautiful cross into the box that Erin Mikeska blasted past Baylor freshman goalkeeper Jennifer Wandt for the tying goal early in the second half.
It took the Bears longer to answer this time, but they peppered the Rice goal with 15 second-half shots, including one by Piercy that hit off the crossbar. And then Piercy set a program record for an NCAA tournament game, recording her third assist of the night on Padgett's game-winning shot.
"It was kind of a blur," said Padgett, who recorded the sixth goal of her career and third game winner. "I remember that someone served it up in the air and it came down. It was kind of being kicked around, and I just got my foot on it. We're always taught to keep going for the ball. I was just fighting until I got it in."
Baylor stayed aggressive until the final seconds ticked off the clock, finishing with a decisive 28-12 edge in shots and 9-3 in corner kicks.
"We've had teams in the past that you get into that situation and you just hold on not to lose," Jobson said. "We always talk about, you've got to play to win every minute whether you're ahead or not."
In other games involving Big 12 teams, Texas shut out North Texas, 3-0, and TCU bowed out with a 2-1 loss to Arizona.
THE RUNDOWN WACO, Texas - Baylor soccer (14-5-2, 4-4-1 Big 12) rallied from an early deficit and punched home a gamewinner late to down the Rice Owls (12-4-2), 3-2, on Friday evening at Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field.
The Bears fell behind early, with Rice notching the first goal on the board in the 17th minute. Passing into the box behind the BU backline, the Owls were able to punch in the early goal to take the 1-0 lead.
It took less than 10 minutes for the Bears to turn the tide, with BU tying the match back in the 25th. Lauren Piercy served in a pass on a corner kick that found Julie James. After James' shot bounced through and back, it gave Precious Akanyirige an opening, with the senior defender driving in the tying goal to even the score at 1-1.
Just 1:44 late, in the 26th minute, Piercy worked a pass in to Aline De Lima, catching the midfielder in the box and allowing De Lima to lace a left-footed bullet through to the net, giving BU the 2-1 lead.
In the 56th minute, the Owls settled the score back at 2-2, again cutting behind the BU backline and finding the net on sharp passing.
Pushing late and continuing to dominate the shot count, it was Piercy again who found Raegan Padgett on a pass, working Padgett into the box to take her shot, netting the gamewinner in the 74th minute.
Solid defense and continued aggressive attack preserved the lead down the stretch, with BU holding on to the win and advancing into the second weekend of play.
NOTES
*Baylor notched its first NCAA win since 2012, adding its first postseason win at Betty Lou since 2011.
*Baylor improved to 4-3-2 all-time in NCAA tourney action.
*Baylor senior midfielder Aline De Lima recorded her seventh goal of the season and the 11th of her BU career.
*Baylor junior forward Lauren Piercy picked up her first three assists in 2017, taking her career count up to seven.
*Baylor senior defender Precious Akanyirige scored her third goal of the season and the 10th of her BU career.
*Baylor sophomore forward Raegan Padgett collected goal number three on the year and the sixth of her collegiate campaign. The goal was her second gamewinner this season and the third in her career.
STAT OF THE MATCH
3 - the number of assists by Lauren Piercy, the most in an NCAA Tournament match in program history.
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor awaits the results from several other first round sites to determine its fate and plans for next weekend. The Bears will face the winners of USC and Eastern Washington on Friday, with the location to be determined. If Texas A&M defeats Lamar, BU will take the short trip to College Station. If the Aggies lose, Baylor will be headed to Los Angeles.
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