Baylor
LSU
SOC Resumes 2020 Season vs. LSU
3/17/2021 11:14:00 AM | Soccer
Bears ready for first match since overtime win over Oklahoma on Nov. 6
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BAYLOR BEARS (3-3-3) Location: Waco, Texas Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Paul Jobson (Presbyterian, 1999) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
BAYLOR (3-3-3) vs LSU (6-8-3) March 18, 2021 • 7 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • Betty Lou Mays Field Live Stats: baylorstats.com WATCH: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ Baylor Social Media:    |
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LSU TIGERS (6-8-3) Location: Baton Rouge, La. Conference: SEC Head Coach: Sian Hudson (Cardiff Metropolitan University, 2002) Roster | Stats (PDF) | Game Notes (PDF) |
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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Playing its first game in 132 days, Baylor soccer (3-3-3) will host LSU (6-8-3) at 7 p.m. Thursday at Betty Lou Mays Field in the first of five games on the spring schedule.
The Bears picked up wins over Kansas, Kansas State and Oklahoma in the last month of the fall slate, but had two games canceled and one postponed in the last couple of weeks.
"This is kind of our light at the end of the tunnel, training-wise," senior midfielder Ally Henderson said, "something we can finally look forward to and put all of our hard work to the test and give our freshmen more experience. We're just amped to get to beat up on some other players that aren't each other. It's been a long time coming."
Head coach Paul Jobson said the Bears are "comping at the bit" to play their first game since a 1-0 overtime win over Oklahoma on Nov. 6.
"There won't be a lack of motivation or adrenaline," Jobson said, "they're ready to play. LSU has the advantage of playing five spring matches, so they've got that experience and they found that way to connect as a team. But, we are playing at home, which is always a great advantage. And the fact that we haven't played in a while, there's that sense of 'Hey, we've got something to prove right away" can be quite motivating."
There's also the motivation of trying to get into the 48-team NCAA tournament that was moved from the fall to spring because of COVID.
"Not different than it's ever been, you can control your own destiny by winning games," Jobson said. "We've got a good resume coming out of the fall, even sitting at .500. Let's not forget that. We've got to be able to build on that with these next couple of games. The reduced number does make it difficult, but at the same time there are less teams."
Freshmen Chloe Japic, Mackenzie Anthony and Olivia Mack, who were all named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team, accounted for four of the team's nine goals and three assists.
"We're excited for those freshmen to get back in their groove, and really all of us," Henderson said. "We're all just itching to play a match and compete and score some goals."
After losing six of its first seven games and going 2-7-2 overall in the fall, LSU has strung together four wins this spring and beat Florida, 2-1, last Sunday. Redshirt junior forward Tinaya Alexander has matched Baylor's team total, scoring nine of the Tigers' 19 goals.
Sian Hudson is in her first year as LSU's head coach after leading the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs to the NCAA Division II national semifinals in 2017 and a three-year record of 52-10-4.
"You can just see in how they're playing, there's a lot of buy-in, a lot of commitment to each other, buy-in to each other," Jobson said. "They're going to compete all over the field. She's got a lot of buy-in right now, and I think that's been the difference from the LSU that maybe we've seen in the past to what they're bringing to the table now."
Thursday's game will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with Derek Smith calling the action.
The rest of the spring schedule has Baylor playing Louisiana on March 27 and Texas Tech on April 17 and road games at Texas on March 31 and Oklahoma on April 10.
"If this past year has taught myself and my teammates and the staff anything, it's just take it one day at a time," Jobson said. "I think we're just trying to do that and put our best foot forward every single day. That's kind of our mentality, because you never know what's going to happen. We just want to make the most of every moment."
STORY LINES
- Baylor returns to action for the second half of the 2020 season with five more matches in the spring after playing a conference-only slate in the fall. Originally, the Bears were scheduled to start out the spring with an exhibition in February before taking on Big 12 foes in non-conference matches in back-to-back weekends to open the month of March, but a pair of cancellations and a postponement have BU eager to get back on the field and resume the 2020 season against LSU.
- Meanwhile, LSU is 4-1-1 in the spring. The Tigers are coming off a weekend they split against Dallas Baptist (L, 1-2) in Baton Rouge and Florida (W, 2-1) in Orange Beach, Ala.
- Baylor wrapped up the fall with a 3-3-3 record to finish fifth in the Big 12 standings. BU was one of the tops in the country in shutout percentage as six of the Bears' nine matches they pitched a shutout.
STACK 'EM UP
- Baylor racked up six Big 12 honors in November with three second-teamers (Jennifer Wandt, Kayley Ables and Taylor Moon) and three All-Freshman selections (Mackenzie Anthony, Chloe Japic and Gabby Mueller).
- Wandt became the all-time leader in program history with 31 career shutouts in the fall. Half of her six clean sheets came in 110 minutes of action as the TCU, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State matches all went into double overtime. The senior finished the fall with a career-best mark with .506 goals allowed and a .896 save percentage.
- Ables was the lone player in the Big 12 to receive a weekly award in back-to-back weeks. The Waco native was named the Big 12 Defender of the Week after helping the Baylor back line go 220 minutes without giving up a goal against TCU and Texas Tech. The junior locked down her side of the field as she recorded multiple takeaways this season.
- Moon finished the season with two goals, tied for the team high. She switched it up from the middle of the field to playing more down the right side as her dribbling ability allowed her to get past defenders and create opportunities for herself and her teammates. She finished the fall as the most accurate shooter for BU as 83 percent of her shots were on frame.
- Anthony led the Bears with five points on the season as she racked up a pair of goals to go with an assist through nine games. She also finished toward the top of the league with a pair of game-winning goals. The freshman was also tops in the conference in shots with 34, 13 of which were on frame.
- Japic netted BU's first goal of the season off a free kick at Iowa State. She was a major part of Baylor's set pieces as she delivered most of Baylor's free kicks and corner kicks. Against Kansas State, she recorded two assists, one off a corner kick and the other off a free kick.
- Mueller continued to improve as the season went on for the Bears. She utilized her speed to push the ball and transition Baylor to the attacking third of the field. Her quick feet stole some opportunities from opponents while creating more for Baylor.
YOU DON'T WANDT NONE OF THIS
- Jennifer Wandt is Baylor's all-time leader in career shutouts with 31 as she passed Baylor Hall-of-Famer Dawn Greathouse (1997-00) in the draw vs. the Cowgirls (Oct. 2).
- Of the 73 matches Wandt has played in at Baylor, she's recorded a shutout 42.5 percent of the time.
- She is in sole possession of fifth place in Big 12 history. Wandt currently trails Melanie Wilson who recorded 32 shutouts at Texas A&M (1996-99).
