SOC Prepares to Host Oklahoma in Conference Opener

Friday, September 23

Waco, TX

7 PM

Baylor

Oklahoma

SOC Prepares to Host Oklahoma in Conference Opener

9/22/2022 3:35:00 PM | Soccer

Game Notes

Bears are 12-9-6 all-time against the Sooners

BAYLOR VS OKLAHOMA
Friday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m.
Waco, Texas
Betty Lou Mays Field
Video: Big 12 Now ESPN+

BAYLOR BEARS
2022 Record: 2-4-2
Head Coach: Michelle Lenard (North Texas, 2003)
Career Record: 203-79-27 (15th season)
BU Record: 2-4-2 (1st season)

OKLAHOMA SOONERS
2022 Record:  5-2-2
Head Coach: Mark Carr (Foreign College, 2001)
Career Record: 46-93-21 (9th season)
OU Record: 14-25-5 (3rd season)

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            With the slate wiped clean, Baylor soccer (2-4-2) will open Big 12 play against Oklahoma (5-2-2) at 7 p.m. Friday at Betty Lou Mays Field.
            "We knew going into the season, we had a really tough non-conference schedule," first-year head coach Michelle Lenard said. "With all the changes we've had, all the injuries we've had, we ended up on the upside downside with our record to this point.
            "But, what we've learned is we've been tested in just about every way. And outside of one game, we've been competitive and in position to win every single game we've played. . . . What we've done up to this point, what anyone has done up to this point, doesn't really matter. What matters is what happens starting on Friday and after that."
            Dallas Baptist transfer Jenna Patterson, who has assisted on two of the team's seven goals, said the Bears are "re-excited" going into conference play.
            "In the beginning of the season, you have that whole attitude of this is new and we're all getting to know each other," Patterson said. "This is now settling in and the idea of a clean slate. We're kind of going into conference thinking that everything we've used, we're going to use it to our advantage into our next game."
            Baylor is coming off one of its best defensive games of the year, holding 19^th-ranked SMU to one shot on goal in the second half of a 1-0 loss on the road to the Mustangs.
            "SMU was a good opponent, and I don't want to discredit that," goalkeeper Madison Martin said, "because they did put us under tough situations. But, I think we handled them extremely well, sans a few moments. I think for the most part, we gave them a run for their money and really made them work and earn the opportunities that they had."
            Lenard said "there were a lot of positives across the board" at SMU, despite being outshot, 11-6, and getting shut out for the fourth time.
            "We were lacking in the final pass, and I think that could have changed the game for us," Lenard said. "The game could have gone either way. I thought overall, we played really well. It's a hard environment to play in. It was loud, a lot of noise. They couldn't hear us, they couldn't hear one another. So, it was another great experience, another opportunity for us to grow."
            The Bears get a physical Oklahoma team that has racked up 19 yellow cards and two reds in the first nine games of the season. OU, led by senior forward Emma Hawkins with five goals, have won four in a row and come in riding a six-game unbeaten streak since back-to-back road losses at Nebraska and 12^th-ranked Arkansas.
            "We know that the Big 12 is that way. I think this team is probably near the top with how physical they are," Lenard said. "We have to be smart. One, we can't back down. We've got to be strong and tough in those moments. We have to expect the physicality and, more importantly, we've got to play fast so the physicality doesn't slow the game down and doesn't put us in situations to lose the ball or be injured. We aren't going to back away. These girls are going to go toe-to-toe in every single battle."
            With some of OU's forwards "willing to shoot from distance," Martin said you have to stay on your toes in goal. Splitting time in the last game, Lauren Traywick had three first-half saves before Martin saw only one shot on goal in the last 45 minutes.
            "It's a good thing we have going, where every practice you show up and you work for each other," Martin said of having four goalkeepers competing for the spot. "It keeps all of us competitive. Just being such an open spot right now, it allows all of us to come out with our best every day."
            With a game at Gonzaga canceled because of air-quality issues, this is just the third game the Bears have played since a scoreless tie with Iowa on Sept. 4. Baylor goes back on the road to face Texas (6-1-3, 0-0-1) at 7 p.m. next Friday, Sept. 30, in Austin.

STORY LINES

Baylor will begin conference play Friday night, as they host Oklahoma at Betty Lou Mays Field at 7 p.m. Friday's game is also Go Gold night and the monthly Baylor Cub Club night. Everyone is encouraged to wear gold and free t-shirts and gold pom poms will be given away to fans.
The Bears are 7-14-5 in conference openers and are 12-9-6 all-time against the Sooners. BU has played the Sooners to open conference three times in Baylor history and are 1-1-1 in those conference opening matches.
In the last meeting between these two teams, Baylor fell to Oklahoma in Norman, 2-0. OU was Baylor's last regular season match last year before they faced West Virginia in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament.
This match officially marks the halfway point in the season and they Bears are 2-4-2 overall
BU is in the middle of a three week stretch where they will have just one game a week. Last week they faced No. 19 SMU, this week they host Oklahoma and next week they travel to Texas.
Baylor last faced No. 19 SMU where they fell 1-0 in the match. After the Mustangs scored in the 24th minute, the Bears forced 66 shutout minutes limiting SMU to just one shot on goal in the second half.
Goalkeepers Lauren Traywick and Madison Martin shared time in goal at SMU, with Traywick playing the first 45 minutes and recording three saves, and Martin completing the second half and only forced to make one stop.
With the Bears cancelation at Gonzaga, BU has now had four of nine matches so far this season disrupted by weather. Two have been delayed due to lightning and rain, one has been moved up due to incoming weather and the last canceled due to unhealthy air quality in Spokane, Wash.
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.
BU has had 24 different players see playing time this season, with 11 of them being newcomers to the team.
Ashley Merrill's two goals and 18 shots, 10 on goal, lead the Bears.
Goalkeeper Lauren Traywick has started in seven of the Bears eight games this season, tallying a career-high nine saves against No. 1 North Carolina and totaling 34 on the season.
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.