SOC Takes Down Arizona State, 4-0

Thursday, October 10

Waco, Texas

7PM

Baylor

7-5-3, 2-3-2

Arizona State

7-4-3, 2-4-1

Team	1	2	Final F
Arizona St.	0	0	0
Baylor	2	2	4

SOC Takes Down Arizona State, 4-0

10/10/2024 10:48:00 PM | Soccer

Box Score Box Score

Bears score four goals for the third time this season

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

WACO, Texas – After scoring just two goals combined in its previous three games, Baylor soccer opened the floodgates Thursday night at Betty Lou Mays Field.

Starting with an own goal by the visiting Arizona State Sun Devils (7-4-2, 2-4-1) that was headed in by an ASU defender off a corner kick by Tyler Isgrig, the Bears (7-5-3, 2-3-2) netted two goals in each half and walked away with a 4-0 victory on "Senior Night."

"It was really important," Baylor coach Michelle Lenard said, "both for just our mental state right now, to get back out there and create chances and finish some really good opportunities. To lead a game and stay in control . . . for really all of it, to completely dominate the game, score some nice goals, come away with the shutout, altogether, great performance."

The three points from the win moved the Bears up four spots to ninth in the Big 12 standings – the top 12 qualify for the Big 12 tournament – and three points out of sixth place.

"We've had it close with some of the top teams in the conference," said sophomore Callie Conrad, who had an assist and her fourth goal of the season, "but we really needed this win to get back up in the standings."

ASU was the aggressor early in the game, with Baylor goalkeeper Azul Alvarez forced to come up with three of her career-high nine saves in the first seven minutes.

"First five minutes, they were pressing in a way that we weren't expecting," Lenard said. "And I think our problem-solving wasn't great. But we quickly fixed, which was really a good adjustment for us in-game. They were playing a shape that was kind of hard to identify, honestly. And I thought our players did a really good job of figuring out how to manage that. Once we got through that first five minutes and settled down, after that, it was all us."

In the 11^th minute, off a corner kick by Tyler Isgrig, an ASU defender battled Baylor freshman Alysiah Lockette in the air and inadvertently headed it past Sun Devil goalkeeper Pauline Nelles to give the Bears the early 1-0 lead.

About 10 minutes later, senior Ashley Merrill knocked in her fourth goal of the season and 52^nd of her career off an assist from Conrad on a cross into the left side of the box.

"We really wanted to target the wide space and the space behind their back line," Lenard said. "The goal specifically into Ashley was something we trained all week. Four different goal scorers is always a great game. Just a lot of variety showed up. We can be dangerous in a lot of different ways with a lot of different players. And we really need to do that more often."

After that early barrage, ASU got off five more shots the rest of the half and none in the last 12 ½ minutes.

Not satisfied with the two-goal lead, the Bears struck again less than four minutes into the second half, when Hannah Augustyn headed in a goal off a set-piece assist from Isgrig that made it 3-0.

"We've really been focusing on the attack this week in practice," Conrad said, "specifically just getting those chances and really scouting the other team to how we can capitalize on their weaknesses. Just getting other players into different rotations of different players and seeing how we can create other opportunities."

With Baylor staying on the attack, Conrad scored the last goal in the 87^th minute, when she dribbled around Nelles and fired it into an open net.

"One of the things we talked about was pressing them really high and keeping them under pressure," said Conrad, who is tied for the team lead with Isgrig and Merrill with four goals apiece. "Subbing allows us to do that and stay in their half, get shots on their goal. And that's how we win."

With Lenard dipping into her bench "better tonight than we have in a couple of the other games," sophomore forward Caroline Staubach made her collegiate debut and got off three shots in 26 minutes, including a team-high two on goal.

"She's been consistently training, puts in the extra hours, goes out and gets in front of the goal," Lenard said of Staubach, the granddaughter of NFL Hall of Famer Roger Staubach. "At training, she's really shown that she can get in goal-scoring positions and score at a high level. A lot of the chances she had tonight, she's scoring in training. So, there's some nerves, but she got in some great situations. And she had some of the best looks of the night."

Merrill was one of seven seniors recognized after the game, joined by Marissa Gray, Ava Colberg, Jordan Ryan, Haven Terry, Kate Zimmerman and Blythe Obar, who is returning for a sixth year after sitting out this season with a torn ACL.

Baylor, which has not outscored its opponents 22-14 for the season, will host West Virginia (9-3-2, 5-1-1) in its final home game at 1 p.m. Sunday. The Mountaineers are coming off a 3-1 loss at TCU.

THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas – Baylor soccer dominated Arizona State, 4-0, Thursday night at Betty Lou Mays Field.

Azul Alvarez was tested early in the match, having to make three saves in the first seven minute to stop the Sun Devils attack.

It was Baylor who found the back of the net first, scoring in the 11^th minute on an ASU own goal to put BU ahead 1-0 early.

Ten minutes later, BU was able to its second goal when Callie Conrad connected with Ashley Merrill in the box to put the Bears up 2-0 in the 21^st minute.

Alvarez was only tested once more in the first 45, making a save in the 23^rd minute but the Baylor defense kept the Sun Devils in check for the rest of the first half.

To get things started in the second half Tyler Isgrig fired off two shots in the 46^th and 47^th minutes, forcing the ASU goalkeeper to make a save but Isgrig wasn't able to find a goal.

It was defender, Hannah Augustyn who gave Baylor its third goal of the match in the 49^th minute, when she headed in a ball from Isgrig's set piece.

In goal Alvarez was tested four more times in the second half, bringing her total to a career-high nine saves to keep a clean sheet for the Bears.

Not content with the 3-0 lead, Conrad found her fourth goal of the season in the 87^th minute to give BU four goals in a match for the third time this season and secure the Bears' 4-0 victory over the Sun Devils.

HIGHLIGHTS

Baylor had five players play all 90 minutes
The first time since 2019 the Bears have scored four or more goals in three games in a season
Azul Alvarez made a career-high nine saves
Alvarez picked up her fifth shutout of the season
Tyler Isgrig and Callie Conrad each recorded an assist
Three different Bears recorded a goal
Caroline Staubach made her first career start with three shots, two on goal
Isgrig had a team-leading four shots
Nine Bears combined for 16 total shots

QUOTABLE
Callie Conrad on creating chances …
"We've really been focusing on the attack this week in practice, specifically just getting those chances and really scouting the other team to how we can capitalize on their weaknesses, so just getting other players into different rotations of different plays and seeing how we can create opportunities."

WHAT'S NEXT
Up next, the Bears will host West Virginia in its last home match of the season on Sunday, Oct. 13, at 1 p.m. CT.

- BaylorBears.com -