SOC Heads to Iowa State, West Virginia

BAYLOR at IOWA STATE
Thursday, Oct. 13 at 6 p.m.
Ames, Iowa
Cyclone Sports Complex
Video: Big 12 Now ESPN+

BAYLOR at WEST VIRGINIA
Sunday, Oct. 16 at 2 p.m. CT
Morgantown, W. VA.
Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium
Video: ESPNU

BAYLOR BEARS
2022 Record: 3-7-2
Head Coach: Michelle Lenard (North Texas, 2003)
Career Record: 204-84-27 (15th season)
BU Record: 3-7-2 (1st season)

IOWA STATE CYCLONES
2022 Record:  3-7-2
Head Coach: Matt Fannon (Davis & Elkins, 2009)
Career Record: 92-68-25 (10th season)
ISU Record: 11-24-8 (3rd season)

WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS
2022 Record:  4-3-6
Head Coach: Nikki Izzo-Brown (Rochester, 1993)
Career Record: 389-135-67 (28th season)
WVU Record: 376-130-67 (27th season)

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Whether it's a big high or the lowest of lows, first-year Baylor soccer coach Michelle Lenard is preaching to "stick with the process."
            The Bears (3-7-2, 1-3) experienced both ends of that last week, scoring twice in the last three minutes to pull out a 3-2 win over Kansas, then giving up a penalty-kick goal with 18 seconds left in a frustrating 2-1 loss to Kansas State.
            "I think the message has been consistent throughout the whole season," said Lenard, whose Bears will face Iowa State (3-7-3, 0-4-1) at 6 p.m. Thursday in Ames, Iowa, and West Virginia (4-3-6, 1-0-3) at 2 p.m. CT Sunday in Morgantown. "If we just commit to the process, stick with it, trust it, we believe it's going to put us in position to win games. And at this point in the season, that's what we need to do. I feel like we're going into this weekend ready."
            With a closing schedule that includes 10^th-ranked TCU and top-70 RPI teams Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, this is Baylor's best chance to pick up some points and qualify for the Big 12 Championship that begins Oct. 30 in Round Rock.
            "We're trying to bounce back, not lose hope," said freshman defender Hallie Augustyn, who assisted on the game-winning goal against Kansas. "Right now, with our record, it's really easy to lose hope and just think that the season's done. But really, anything can happen. We've seen that in soccer almost every day. So, it's not giving up and trying to go in and make the Big 12 tournament and go from there."
            After a stretch of five games that saw the Bears score just one goal, freshman forward Reneta Vargas returned from an injury to score three goals in two games and earn Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors.
            "Reneta, obviously, is a great addition to the group, just being more of a traditional (center forward)," Lenard said, "someone who knows where the goal is and has instincts in front of the goal. But, I think it's a combination of getting her back and other pieces starting to click as well. We're creating better opportunities inside the box, and now we've got a player in there who has a lot of experience on the end of those."
            Twins Hallie and Hannah Augustyn each had an assist to Vargas, who's now tied for the team lead with Ashley Merrill with three goals.
            "Her and the twins have a great connection. They're all friends, they live together," Lenard said. "But really, Reneta clicks with anyone. If you put the ball in a dangerous space, she's going to be there. Ashley Merrill's the same way. Both of them, if you can get them in the box and get the ball in an area where they can create an opportunity, we can be really confident that one of them will be in that space."
            Senior forward Elizabeth Kooiman is still looking for her first goal of the season, but seven of her 13 shots have come in the last three games, including all five on goal in the 1-0 loss to a Texas team that's now ranked 22^nd in the coaches' poll.
            "We've definitely started getting a lot more chances – good, quality chances," Kooiman said. "Now, it's just about putting those away, but knowing we can score and knowing we can get on the board and hopefully get a win."
            Tied with Kansas at the bottom of the Big 12 standings with one point, Iowa State has been shut out in four of its last five games and has scored 12 goals combined in 13 games.
            "They probably try to control the game a little bit more than some of our recent opponents, but they still have a direct component," Lenard said of the Cyclones. "And they've got a couple of dangerous players up front. Everybody in the Big 12, no matter how much they hold on to the ball, has a weapon that can hurt you in a counter-attack moment. We've got to be disciplined in those moments.
            "For us, at this point, it's not about our opponent, it's not about what they do. It's about us executing our game. When we do that, we can win soccer games."
            Thursday's game will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with Sunday's matchup at West Virginia airing on ESPNU.

STORY LINES

Baylor heads on the road this week to take on Iowa State on Thursday and West Virginia Sunday as they continue conference play.
Sunday's game will be broadcast on ESPNU, the Bears first game this season nationally televised.
The Bears are 19-8-2 all-time against the Cyclones, defeating them last season at home, 2-0.
The Bears are 2-7-2 all-time against the Mountaineers, and were 0-1-1 laast season, recording a 0-0 double overtime draw in regular season, before falling to them, 1-0, in the first round of the Big 12 Championship.
Iowa State, who is 0-4-1 in conference play, fell last week against Texas Tech and then ranked No.10 TCU, both games on the road.
In conference play so far this season, West Virginia is 1-0-3 after tying Kansas and No. 10 TCU in back-to-back weeks.
The Bears are 3-7-2 overall, 1-3-0 in conference play so far this season, coming off of a win against Kansas and a loss to Kansas State.
Shining in her first career start, Reneta Vargas netted two of the goals in the Bears 3-2 victory over Kansas, including the game winner in the final minute. Ashley Merrill found the back of the net for the Bears second goal against the Jayhawks to tie the game at 2-2 in the 88th minute. This win marked the Bears first conference win of the season and head coach Michelle Lenard's first Big 12 win.
Against Kansas State, the Wildcats went up first, 1-0 in the first half before Vargas netted her third goal in two games to score the equalizer in the second half. KSU won the match after a penalty in the box with 18 seconds set up the Wildcats for a penalty goal.
Coming back from injury, Reneta Vargas played her first-career minutes against Texas and made her first career starts last week against KU and KSU. She was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Week on Oct. 11 for her three goals in two games. She had four shots last week with three of them on goal. She was the second Bear this season to win the conference's Freshman of the week award.
Freshman Morgan Greensage, who was coming back from an injury, played in her first career game against Oklahoma and picked up her first-career start against Texas.
BU has had 26 different players see playing time this season, with 13 of them being newcomers to the team.
Ashley Merrill's three goals tie a team-high and her 24 shots, 13 on goal, leads the Bears.
Freshman, Hallie Augustyn earned the Bears first Big 12 weekly award, as she was tabbed the conference's Freshman of the Week for her work against Houston and Iowa on Sept. 6, 2021.
For Gabby Mueller's game winning goal against Florida on Aug. 25, she was named Top Drawer Soccer's National Team of the Week Honorable Mention.
Kayley Ables was the lone Baylor player named to the Preseason All-Big 12 team. A fifth-year senior for the program, she has been a key component to the Baylor backline, aka the "No-Goal Patrol."
Taylor Moon was named a preseason Forward to Watch this season by United Soccer Coaches.
With coach Lenard's new playing philosophy, BU defeated both LSU (3-1) and UTSA (2-1) in preseason exhibition matches with five different Baylor players scoring goals.
The NCAA has done away with overtime during the regular season this year, meaning that every game will end at the end of the 90-minute regulation time.

- BaylorBears.com -

SOC Heads to Iowa State, West Virginia

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Players Mentioned

Kayley Ables

Hallie Augustyn

Hannah Augustyn

Morgan Greensage

Elizabeth Kooiman

Ashley Merrill

Taylor Moon

Gabby Mueller

Reneta Vargas

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