THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas – Baylor soccer fell against SMU, 2-1, Thursday night at Betty Lou Mays Field.
 
The Bears and Mustangs battled for most of the first half with SMU only getting one more shot off than Baylor. BU goalkeeper Ashlee Zirkel made four saves in the first half, with the first save in the 7^th minute. Freshman, Theresa McCullough got off the last shot in the first 45 minutes but the Bears and Mustangs remained scoreless at the half. 
 
It was SMU who struck first in the contest, finding the back of the net in 54^th minute and then again in the 61^stminute to go up 2-0.
 
BU's Hannah Boughton, Skylar Zinnecker, Tyler Isgrig and Jenna Patterson all answered with shots of their own, but it wasn't until the 84^th minute when the Bears were able to capitalize. Ashley Merrill found the back of the net for the Bears, after a corner kick from Isgrig and a saved header from Skye Leach set the shot up for her. The Bears totaled 10 corner kicks on the night, with the last one resulting in a goal. 
 
With only six minutes left to play, the Bears weren't able to find the equalizer and fell, 2-1, against the Mustangs.
 
 HIGHLIGHTS

• The Bears and Mustangs each had 12 shots
• Ashley Merrill netted her third goal of the season
• Skylar Zinnecker led the Bears with three shots, followed by Jenna Patterson and Tyler Isgrig with two apiece
• The Bears have now scored a goal in each match this season, totaling 10 goals through six games

QUOTABLE
Michelle Lenard on the game … 
"We need to build our confidence back up. I was kind of hard on them tonight, I think they want that. They're good group of kids, they want to win and they know that they're capable of more than this, so they want to be held to a high standard. I want to do a little damage control over the next couple days and kind of bring their confidence back up. They can handle it. They're capable. We need to come out Sunday, we need to be hungry, we need to be focused and we need to be rested and ready."

Hannah Boughton on the game … 
"I think that we could do a better job in the final third, I think that's somewhere where we're lacking. Just creativity, like movement around the box is something we can get better at, and once we get that down we'll be a great team."

Tyler Isgrig on the defense … 
"I think that defensively we did an okay job, especially in the first half. Being able to win it higher up the field and create opportunities, even though we weren't able to finish. I mean both of their goals were two good shots they had in the second half. So just really limiting their ability in the counterattack and getting better in the transition. I think we can take that as a good lesson from this game."

WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears will continue their six-game homestand at Betty Lou Mays Field with a match against Abilene Christian on Sunday, Sept. 10, at 7 p.m. CT.