THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas – Baylor soccer shut out Houston, 4-0, Sunday afternoon at Betty Lou Mays Field.  
 
Baylor came out on fire, putting its first shot on goal in the 3^rd minute of action. Forcing another save from the Houston goalkeeper in the 5^th minute, Azul Alvarez was then tested in goal, making three saves over the next 10 minutes. 
 
The Bears struck first after a corner kick service from Tyler Isgrig found Hallie Augustyn by the back post who headed in the ball the first goal of the game in the 32^nd minute. Less than three minutes later, the Bears doubled the lead when Natalie Vatter fed the ball to Isgrig who headed in her third goal of the season. 
 
Coming out in the second half with the 2-0 lead over the Cougars, Houston put a shot on frame in the 46^th minute but Azul Alvarez remained perfect in goal, making the save. 
 
After peppering off four shots through three minutes, Ashley Merrill was able to find the back of the net of off an assist from Callie Conrad in the 56^th minute to put the Bears up by three goals. 
 
Baylor's offense didn't let up, forcing Houston into two more saves as Alvarez was only tested once more in that time. BU scored for the fourth time in the 65^th minute when Isgrig connected with Conrad who put a goal away for her first time since the Hawaii trip. 
 
With the 4-0 lead Baylor continued to take shots, but four goals would be all they needed as they shut out the Cougars for their first conference win of the season. 

HIGHLIGHTS

• Tyler Isgrig had a season-high four points, from two assists and a goal
• Isgrig's two assists tie a career-high
• Callie Conrad recorded her first assist of the season
• Hallie Augustyn, Ashley Merrill and Conrad all scored their third goals fo the season
• This is the Bears' first game with four different goal scorers since Sept. 10, 2023
• Hallie Augustyn and Azul Alvarez were the only two bears to play the full 90 minutes
• Alvarez picked up her sixth win in goal and fourth shutout
• Alvarez made five saves
• The Bears are now 1-2 in conference play
• The Bears' 26 shots are the second most this season
• Ten shots on goal are good for third most this season

QUOTABLE
Head coach Michelle Lenard on the game …
"We're thrilled with the shutout, and we're thrilled with the four goals. We want to come out with an aggressive [and] attacking mindset and I thought we did that."

Hallie Augustyn on her goal …
"It's fun to me, it's fun attacking the ball in the box and getting to score, I stay back the entire time, so getting to have the opportunity to go into the box and attack the ball is really exciting to me. I want to make it worth my time, if I'm going to go up there, I might as well attack the ball. And that's also something that, our team has been working on lately is going to the ball and making sure we're first to win it. It's fun accomplishing the goal of getting the ball back in the net, especially on a set piece."

Ashley Merrill on the strong start in the second half … 
"During halftime, we we're in the locker room saying the next goal really depicts the whole game. They score. It's a blood bath. We score. Crushes their hopes a little bit. So, it was good to get that third goal out of half."

WHAT'S NEXT
Up next, the Bears will head to Colorado to face the Buffs on Thursday, Sept. 26, before returning home to host TCU on Sunday, Sept. 29.