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SOC Prepares for Big 12 Championship

Bears open up the postseason against No. 15 Texas Tech

GAME NOTES

Soccer 11/2/2019 1:10:00 PM

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Baylor kicks off the 2019 postseason against No. 15 Texas Tech at 5:30 p.m. Sunday at the Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City. It's win or go home for the Bears as the more wins they can rack up in KC, the better their chances of receiving an NCAA Tournament bid.

Baylor's draw in the conference tournament is favorable with all the Texas schools on the same side of the bracket. While the Bears went 1-2 against their in-state rivals, they fared well in all of them. But before looking ahead and charting their path to the championship match, where they've finished the last two years with a tournament title in 2017, Baylor must first focus on a Texas Tech team that is ranked 15^th nationally and is riding a three-game win streak over the past week.

The Red Raiders dominated Kansas State on Thursday with a 4-1 showing in Lubbock coming off an overtime victory in Austin over the Longhorns. Tech's winning ways got started in Waco when the Red Raiders topped the Bears 2-0 on a cold and windy Friday morning.

Baylor dominated every statistical category against Texas Tech on Oct. 25 – shots (20-9), shots on goal (11-4) and corner kicks (8-2). However, the Red Raiders were able to capitalize on their opportunities with a pair of second-half goals by Kirsten Davis.

On the season, Texas Tech finished with 36 goals, a mark the sits at second in the league. Tech's six wins in Big 12 play marked the second time that's happened for the Red Raiders and first time since 2014 when Texas Tech advanced to the Sweet 16.

Baylor has found recent success in the Big 12 Championship with deep runs each of the past two years. In 2017, the fifth-seeded Bears topped Texas (2-1 OT) and Oklahoma State (3-0) before defeating TCU 2-1 in overtime to claim their first Big 12 tournament title since 2012.

The Bears are 14-12-3 overall in the Big 12 Championship with an 8-4-2 mark under head coach Paul Jobson. Since BU secured its first tournament title in 2012, the Bears have made it past the first round every year.

Tickets to the Big 12 Championship are on sale for $5 (one-day passes) and $12 (three-day all-session passes). Fans interested in attending can purchase tickets by emailing Zach Layton and the Kansas City Sports Commission at zlayton@sportkc.org.

Keep up with the team all season long by following Baylor Soccer on the team's official Twitter (@BaylorFutbol), Facebook (Baylor Soccer), and Instagram (@BaylorFutbol).

STORY LINES

Baylor kicks off the postseason Sunday evening in Kansas City at the Big 12 Championship. The Bears, who enter the conference's postseason tournament as the No. 7 seed, will take on second-seeded Texas Tech at 5:30 p.m. at Swope Soccer Village. The match will be aired on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
This will be the second time in a little more than a week that the Bears and Red Raiders have faced off on the soccer pitch. The two teams met last Friday in a contest the weather played a major part of.
The match was originally scheduled for Thursday but, due to lightning and heavy rain, was moved to Friday morning. With the wind out of the north and steady at 20 MPH, crosses on the west side of the field were blown from the desired location of the far post to well outside the box.
The Red Raiders netted both of their goals in the second half with Kirsten Davis responsible for each one.
Despite the final score, Baylor dominated Texas Tech in nearly every category, including shots (20-9), shots on goal (11-4) and corner kicks (8-2).
After facing each other, BU closed out the regular season with a 1-1 record, while Texas Tech went 2-0. Baylor topped Iowa State 2-0 on Sunday before falling 3-0 at No. 12 Oklahoma State on Thursday. The Red Raiders topped Texas 2-1 in overtime before throttling Kansas State, 4-1, on Thursday.
BU leads the conference and is top 20 in the country in shots (17.22) and shots on goal (8.41) per game.
Baylor checks in at No. 54 in this week's RPI. BU is seventh in the Big 12 behind 15 Texas Tech, 16 Oklahoma State, 19 Kansas, 33 West Virginia, 46 Texas and 51 TCU. Rounding out the conference are 67 Oklahoma, 186 Kansas State and 203 Iowa State.
Fifteen Bears received Academic All-Big 12 honors on Wednesday. Every eligible Baylor player (first-year transfers and freshmen are ineligible for the award) received the accolade - Maggie Burton, Danielle Hayden, Kylie Ross, Elena Reyna, Sarah Norman, Kayley Ables, Camryn Wendlandt, Jennifer Wandt, Taylor Moon, Maddie Algya, Audrey Johnston, Ally Henderson, Giuliana Cunningham, Raegan Padgett and Halee Sowinski.
Baylor earned the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award after posting a 3.63 GPA in 2018-19. Of the nine Big 12 schools that received the award, BU had the highest GPA with Kansas and Kansas State tied for second with a 3.47.