Box Score

If there were any doubts or lingering questions about whether Baylor soccer could match up against the best teams in the country, they were answered Friday night in the Big 12 opener at Betty Lou Mays Field.

Standing toe-to-toe with fifth-ranked West Virginia for 95 minutes, the Bears answered a late goal by the Mountaineers with a beautiful header goal by Aline De Lima with just 34 seconds left in regulation. But, WVU's Amandine Pierre-Louis drilled in a free kick from just outside the penalty box for the game-winner in a 2-1 overtime victory for the visitors.

"You can't question our resolve, you can't question our fight, you can't question our belief that we can play with anybody," said Baylor coach Paul Jobson, whose team fell to 6-2-1 overall and 0-1-0 in the Big 12. "Unfortunate goal at the end there in overtime, but I can't be more proud of what we did, with an opportunity to beat the No. 5 team in the country. Hopefully, we get to play them again in the Big 12 Tournament."

With a strong wind at its back, West Virginia (8-2-0, 1-0-0) was the aggressor for most of the first half, taking six of the first seven shots of the game and keeping the Bears on their heels.

Freshman goalkeeper Jennifer Wandt was up to the challenge, though, registering four of her career-high seven saves in the first half. She batted away a shot by Michaela Abam in the 28th minute, then made a diving snag on a hot shot by Carla Portillo near the left post.

"Jen was fantastic tonight," Jobson said. "She's made some big saves all season, but she stepped up to the call every time tonight and did a great job in the back for us."

Wandt, who called it the "biggest game of my career coming in from high school," credited defenders Caitlin Schwartz and Precious Akanyirige for "throwing their bodies into every single shot."

Baylor finally created some scoring chances late in the half with back-to-back corner kicks, but a Julie James header and De Lima shot were both blocked by the West Virginia defense.

"As the game went on, it really could have gone either way," Jobson said. "I think they put it to us pretty early on. It wasn't that we weren't up for the match, they're just a great team. I think we weathered the storm a little bit, realized we could play, kind of found our rhythm and went after them."

Particularly over the last 20 minutes of regulation, Baylor stepped up its attack, out-shooting the Mountaineers, 6-2.

But, it was West Virginia that struck first. Heather Kaleiohi connected on a high, lofting shot from the far side and found the far upper right pocket of the net to give the Mountaineers a 1-0 lead with just 2:17 left in regulation.

"I think me and a few other people thought it was going over (the goal)," Wandt said. "I should have given it a go, but it was just a well-placed shot."

Just like they did in Sunday's 4-1 road win at SMU, the Bears answered immediately.

Down to the last minute, Sarah King launched a kick from near midfield that pulled WVU goalkeeper Riley Forster out of the goal. An alert De Lima sprinted past the rest of the defenders and won the one-on-one with Foster, leaping over her to head the ball in for her third goal of the season and seventh of her career.

"It was a great ball from Sarah. It was in the right spot and I got it over the goalkeeper with my head," said De Lima, who admits that she's one of the worst on the team in heading balls. "I think it was just instincts. When we practice, I'm not good on the headers at all. When I saw the ball come over, and I saw the defenders step up . . . and I knew the keeper was coming, it was a great opportunity to head the ball."

Jobson said the late goal by the Mountaineers "didn't deflate them, it really amped them up."

"They were like, `Hey, we don't really deserve to be one down. We need to get after it,''' he said. "They stepped up to it, and we moved some numbers and made a push, and it worked for us."

West Virginia, which finished with a 19-10 edge in shots, had a couple chances in the first five minutes of overtime. But, Abam was wide right and Grace Cutler hit one over the goal.

Then, at the 95:34 mark, freshman Emily Bunnell was called for a foul when she ran into Cutler just outside the penalty box. And Pierre-Louis ended it with her kick just over a wall of Baylor defenders that nestled into the net just inside the left post.

Jobson said the Bears have to clear the loss and get ready to host Iowa State (2-7-1, 0-1-0) at 1 p.m. Sunday. The Cyclones opened league play Friday with a 1-0 loss at No. 17 Texas.

"While no one likes to lose, especially that way on a free kick at the end of the game, we've got to move forward. We don't have a choice," he said. "Or, no one's going to believe that we can compete at that level. If we go into the next match and we lay an egg, then we haven't proven anything. This match will mean absolutely nothing. So, they've got to continue what they've been doing, which is showing up every day to play."

THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas - Baylor soccer (6-2-1) dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to No. 5 West Virginia (8-2-0) on Friday evening at Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field.

After an extremely physical match, highlighted by a career night between the posts for true freshman goalkeeper, Jennifer Wandt, the Mountaineers scratched out what looked to be a heartbreaker in the 88th minute, breaking up a scoreless tie with the go-ahead goal.

Keeping a level head and attacking back, the Bears had a serve down to in West Virginia territory cleared back to midfield, where Sarah King stepped up with a second, clean look down the pitch.

Spotting senior forward Aline De Lima on the edge of the WVU backline, King served a perfect ball into the box, putting De Lima and WVU goalkeeper Rylee Foster in a race for the first touch.

With Foster drawn out to the penalty spot, De Lima went airborne and put enough touch on it to redirect over Foster, finding the net and tying the match in the 90th minute with just 34 seconds remaining.

Entering overtime with some momentum, the Bears couldn't keep the magic alive, with West Virginia drawing a foul just a couple yards short of the penalty box and drilling home the golden goal to secure the win.

NOTES
*Baylor dropped to 0-5-1 in the all-time series with West Virginia.

*Baylor is the first team outside of the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll to score a goal or force overtime on the Mountaineers this season, with WVU's only other goals allowed coming against top-10 competition (No. 10 Virginia, No. 1 Penn State, No. 6 Duke). The Mountaineers only other overtime match ended in a 1-2 loss to No. 10 Virginia in double overtime.

*Aline De Lima moved into a tie with Jackie Crowther for the most goals scored this season, heading in her third score in 2017 and the seventh of her Baylor career.

*Sarah King notched her first assist in 2017, taking her career count to 16.

*Jennifer Wandt (7 saves) set a new season-high saves count, topping her previous mark of five (Sept. 17, at SMU).

QUOTE OF THE MATCH
"Proud of the girls, definitely proud of the effort. I think we showed that we can play with anybody in the country tonight. And as that game went on, it really could have gone either way. Yeah, I think they put it to us early. It wasn't that we weren't up for the match, but they're a great team. I think we weathered the storm a little bit, realized we could play, found kind of our groove and went after them. I was proud of the effort from our girls. Unfortunate goal at the end there in overtime, but I can't be prouder of what we did, with an opportunity to kind of dismantle the No. 5 team in the country. Hopefully we get to play them again in the Big 12 Tournament." - Baylor head coach Paul Jobson

STAT OF THE MATCH
34 - the number of seconds remaining in the 90th minute by Aline De Lima to force overtime, coming on the assist by Sarah King.

WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor continues through the Big 12 schedule, hosting Iowa State on Sunday, Sept. 24, at 1 p.m. at Betty Lou.

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