Baylor
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Kansas
SOC Welcomes No. 5 Kansas for Scarf Night
10/8/2020 9:11:00 AM | Soccer
Baylor holds a 6-3-2 edge over the Jayhawks in Waco
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BAYLOR BEARS (0-1-3) Location: Waco, Texas Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Paul Jobson (Presbyterian, 1999) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
BAYLOR (0-1-3) vs. KANSAS (3-0) Oct. 9, 2020 • 7 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field Live Stats: baylorstats.com WATCH: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ Baylor Social Media:    |
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KANSAS JAYHAWKS (3-0) Location: Lawrence, Kan. Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Mark Francis (SMU, 1987) Roster | Stats (PDF) | Game Notes (PDF) |
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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Facing the second of three-consecutive top-10 teams, Baylor soccer (0-1-3) will host No. 5 Kansas (3-0-0) at 7 p.m. Friday at Betty Lou Mays Field.
The Bears are coming off their third scoreless draw in double overtime, going toe-to-toe with fourth-ranked Oklahoma State last Friday. Jennifer Wandt, the Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Week, has allowed just two goals in 433 minutes for a goals-against average of .415 that ranks 11th nationally.
"We can sulk, or we can be excited for a limited amount of time, and then we have to move on," Baylor coach Paul Jobson said, "because the games don't get any easier. Whatever the result is at the end of the match, we have to take a few minutes to kind of process, and then we have to move forward very quickly."
Jobson, clearly a half-glass-full kind of guy, has seen improvement from game 1 to game 4 and remains confident that the goals will come. Despite scoring just one goal – a free kick by freshman Chloe Japic in a 2-1 double-OT loss at Iowa State – Baylor is second in the Big 12 and eighth nationally with 16.0 shots per game.
"Each game, we're getting more and more opportunities," he said. "And not only more opportunities, but more quality opportunities. And if we're trending in that direction, I feel really good about where we are. We have confidence in our players, we know they can get it done. At some point, it's going to happen, and I think we'll be a really tough team to stop."
As good as the defense has played, shutting out preseason Big 12 favorites Texas Tech, TCU and Oklahoma State, "we're going to continue to get better defensively, especially as the two freshmen in the backline get experience," Jobson said.
Japic and fellow freshman Sarah Hornyak are part of the backline with junior Kayley Ables and senior Sarah Norman, who had to sit out last Friday's game after getting two yellow cards versus Iowa State. Sophomore Tara Sumer filled in for Norman against the Cowgirls and played a career-high 110 minutes.
"Being able to lock in for 110 minutes is a huge challenge," Sumer said. "But, as a team, and with our coaches, we've been prepared through a lot of mentally challenging training sessions and fitness to be able to know what it takes to keep your mind in the right place during these long games."
With one point for each of the three ties, Baylor is tied for fifth in the Big 12 standings. And while the scoreless draws have been frustrating, senior midfielder Ally Henderson said the Bears are "built for this."
"This is what we train for. We have the strong mentality that we can push through, we're fit," Henderson said. "We work our butts off so that we can play in these kinds of games. I'm never worried that our team can't get up for that. We know that that's a strength of ours, too, that we can push through until the end. Nobody can make it hard enough for us."
Kansas has remained perfect and is tied for second in the league standings with No. 9 West Virginia (3-1-0), scoring second-half goals in 1-0 wins over Texas, Texas Tech and Kansas State.
Last year in Lawrence, Baylor had a 10-1 edge in shots in the first half, but trailed 1-0 en route to "one of the most lopsided games I've had in my career," Jobson said. "We dominated the game, had more opportunities and lost, 4-1."
"They have a quality team with quality players that can put away their chances when they have their moment," Jobson said of the Jayhawks, who were picked sixth in the Big 12 coaches' preseason poll. "But, I love the matchup. They're a fun team to play, and watching film, I like how we match up against them this year."
Kansas holds a slight edge in the all-tine series, 12-11-2, but Baylor is 6-3-2 in games played in Waco. Friday's matchup, which is the annual Scarf Night game, will be broadcast by Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
STORY LINES
- It's Scarf Night at Betty Lou on Friday as Baylor hosts its second-straight top-five opponent when the fifth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks come to town.
- BU is 11-12-2 all-time against the Jayhawks. Baylor holds a 6-3-2 edge over Kansas in Waco.
- The Bears are coming off yet another double overtime contest as BU recorded a scoreless draw in 110 minutes against No. 4 Oklahoma State last week. The shutout marked Oklahoma State's first scoreless outing since finishing with a loss at Texas Tech on Sept. 26 a year ago. Since 2017, Oklahoma State has been shut out nine times. Three of those times have come against Baylor.
- Jennifer Wandt is 13th in the country in goalkeeper minutes with 433. However, because Baylor has only played four matches so far, Wandt's average is well above the rest. She is averaging 108.25 minutes per match. SFA's keeper is the only other keeper with more than 100 minutes per match (101.8).
- Chloe Japic netted Baylor's first goal of the season and the first of her career at Iowa State (Sept. 25). She became the first true freshman to score the team's first goal of the season since Maddie Algya against ACU in 2018.
- Of the 14 freshmen on the roster, eight of them have already made their debuts for the Bears: Sarah Hornyak, Gabby Mueller, Mackenzie Anthony, Japic, Olivia Mack, Abby Schmidt, Chloe Brown and Julia Phelan.
YOU DON'T WANDT NONE OF THIS
- Wandt is now Baylor's all-time leader in career shutouts with 28 as she passed Baylor Hall-of-Famer Dawn Greathouse (1997-00) in the draw vs. the Cowgirls.
- She is now one shy from tying for fifth in Big 12 history alongside Texas Tech's Victoria Esson (2011-13) and West Virginia's Abby Smith (2012-15).
- Wandt is tied for third in the country with three shutouts so far this season; however, she is the lone goalkeeper to record all of her shutouts in double-overtime ties (110 minutes). Three other keepers have one overtime shutout this season – TCU's Emily Alvarado vs. Baylor, 0-0 (2OT); Appalachian State's Kerry Eagleston vs. The Citadel, 0-0 (2OT) and Pitt's Katherine Robinson vs. Navy 1-0 (OT).
KEEPING IT 100
- Baylor leads the nation in double overtime games this year with four. Four other programs have gone into extra time three times (Stephen F. Austin, Texas State, Duke and Appalachian State). SFA and App. State are the only two programs that have seen all their OT matches go to 2OT.
- For the third time in program history, BU has a stretch of at least four-straight matches going to overtime. Only one other time in program history (2012) have the Bears played four consecutive double overtime contests.
- For the 13th-straight year, BU has at least four matches that have gone to overtime.
- Across the country, five matches so far this season have ended in double-overtime scoreless draws. Baylor has three of those.
- In NCAA history, six programs have recorded at least three 0-0 ties in a season multiple times: Georgia State (5-2016, 4-2009); Michigan (4-2006, 3-2007); Milwaukee (4-2005, 3-2007); Baylor (3-2020, 3-2013); Valparaiso (3-2014, 3-2008); UC Irvine (3-2003, 3-1989, 3-1988).
NO GOAL PATROL
- Baylor is sixth in the country with 344 minutes of shutout soccer. Florida State, in fifth with 360 minutes, is the only other team to only have four matches played so far.
- The other four programs (Louisiana 531, Central Arkansas 505, Arkansas 492, Pitt. 434) have all played at least six matches.
