NO REASON TO SLOW DOWN
11/15/2025 11:08:00 AM | Soccer
Soccer keeps foot on the gas in 3-0 NCAA Tournament win over Texas State
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Somewhere in the back of their minds was the memory of Baylor's 2-2 draw with Texas State a year ago, when the Bobcats scored the tying goal with just 11 seconds left on the clock.
Not this time.
Making their first NCAA Tournament appearance in seven years, the 23rd-ranked and fifth-seeded Bears (13-4-4) got a first-half goal from Kai Hayes, added two more in the first 20 minutes of the second half and never let up in advancing with a 3-0 shutout win over Texas State Friday night in a first-round game at Betty Lou Mays Field.
"We want to be in control of the game at all times," said fourth-year head coach Michelle Lenard, whose team advances to face fourth-seeded Wisconsin in a second-round match next Thursday, most likely at South Bend, Ind.
"At the beginning of the second half, once we got control of the game, our confidence started to go higher, and you started to see players try a few more things, take a little more risk. And it started to pay off. There's no reason to slow down at any point. As long as we have the ball and we're attacking, they aren't. And that took a lot of their energy away."
Texas State coach Steve Holeman, whose Bobcats (10-4-7) were coming off a Sun Belt Tournament championship, called the third goal by freshman Olivia Hess a "little bit of a dagger."
"Down 1-0 (at half) is not monumental," Holeman said. "We felt like the first half was back and forth, and we certainly knew we were still in the game. The second goal, we still felt like we were in the game. And the third one was a little bit of a dagger, but I don't think we were ever completely out."
Baylor had already had eight shots, including five that were either blocked or saved, before breaking through in the 36th minute with North Carolina transfer Kai Hayes' fourth goal of the season. Off a pass from Tyler Isgrig and a beautiful cross from Theresa McCullough, Hayes got a header past Texas State goalkeeper Brooklyn Escobar.
"Theresa's been working on that one all season long," Hayes said. "And I told her, 'If I run in the box, find me.' And finally, it happened."
It was McCullough's sixth assist of the season and 12th of her career, while Isgrig moved up to fourth on Baylor's all-time list with her 25th assists in three years with the program.
Comparing her to a basketball point guard, Lenard said McCullough's service into the box "is something that she's been consistently working on all season."
"She's got a little street soccer in her," Lenard said. "We love that you never know what she's about to do. . . . She's had other good services like that throughout the season, so it's really nice to see her get an assist there. She's been a huge part of our season. And sometimes, it doesn't always show up on the stats, how much of an impact on our team. But I think her joy for the game is what I love about her the most."
The Bears' second goal came off a "quick little audible from the sideline," Lenard said. On a free kick from about 25 yards out, Isgrig had a short touch to Hess, who blasted a shot that forced Escobar to make a diving two-handed save. Hallie Augustyn got to the deflection and had an easy shot into the net for her second goal of the season.
"We weren't originally going to play that to Liv (Hess), so the players did a great job," Lenard said. "They could see the space was open. We had talked about looking for things like that, just problem-solving in the moment. Liv smashed the heck out of it, and Hallie was there to pick up the pieces. Liv really created the opportunity with a heck of a shot."
Hess got her payoff less than five minutes later, when she ripped one into the top left corner of the net off an assist from Purdue transfer Lauren Omholt that pushed the lead to 3-0.
"We've really challenged and encouraged her to be more physical defensively, because it is a very physical league" Lenard said of Hess, who netted the third goal of her freshman season. "She's been getting pushed around by a lot of bigger players throughout the season. And tonight was a great opportunity for her. She really stepped into that. She made some hard tackles, won some 50-50 duels. I thought it was a big turning point for her tonight."
While the Baylor offense tallied at least three goals for the sixth time this season, senior goalkeeper Azul Alvarez had three saves and helped the Bears record their 11th shutout of the year.
"They have one of the best goalkeepers in the country," Holeman said of Alvarez, a first-team All-Big 12 selection. "When we played them earlier this season (a 4-1 BU win in San Marcos), I honestly think two of our shots would have been goals on any other keeper in the country. She's just incredible."
If No. 1 overall seed Notre Dame (14-1-3) knocks off Illinois-Chicago (8-7-6) at 5 p.m. Saturday in South Bend, the Bears will face fourth-seeded and 15th-ranked Wisconsin (14-5-2) in the second round on Thursday. The Badgers trailed at halftime before coming back with three second-half goals in a 3-2 win over Western Michigan.
"For us, it's just focused on one game at a time," Lenard said. Enjoy the moment, enjoy this experience. It's not like we've reached some pinnacle and we're satisfied with that. We want to keep going. These girls love playing, I love watching them play, and all the coaching staff loves coaching them."
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Somewhere in the back of their minds was the memory of Baylor's 2-2 draw with Texas State a year ago, when the Bobcats scored the tying goal with just 11 seconds left on the clock.
Not this time.
Making their first NCAA Tournament appearance in seven years, the 23rd-ranked and fifth-seeded Bears (13-4-4) got a first-half goal from Kai Hayes, added two more in the first 20 minutes of the second half and never let up in advancing with a 3-0 shutout win over Texas State Friday night in a first-round game at Betty Lou Mays Field.
"We want to be in control of the game at all times," said fourth-year head coach Michelle Lenard, whose team advances to face fourth-seeded Wisconsin in a second-round match next Thursday, most likely at South Bend, Ind.
"At the beginning of the second half, once we got control of the game, our confidence started to go higher, and you started to see players try a few more things, take a little more risk. And it started to pay off. There's no reason to slow down at any point. As long as we have the ball and we're attacking, they aren't. And that took a lot of their energy away."
Texas State coach Steve Holeman, whose Bobcats (10-4-7) were coming off a Sun Belt Tournament championship, called the third goal by freshman Olivia Hess a "little bit of a dagger."
"Down 1-0 (at half) is not monumental," Holeman said. "We felt like the first half was back and forth, and we certainly knew we were still in the game. The second goal, we still felt like we were in the game. And the third one was a little bit of a dagger, but I don't think we were ever completely out."
Baylor had already had eight shots, including five that were either blocked or saved, before breaking through in the 36th minute with North Carolina transfer Kai Hayes' fourth goal of the season. Off a pass from Tyler Isgrig and a beautiful cross from Theresa McCullough, Hayes got a header past Texas State goalkeeper Brooklyn Escobar.
"Theresa's been working on that one all season long," Hayes said. "And I told her, 'If I run in the box, find me.' And finally, it happened."
It was McCullough's sixth assist of the season and 12th of her career, while Isgrig moved up to fourth on Baylor's all-time list with her 25th assists in three years with the program.
Comparing her to a basketball point guard, Lenard said McCullough's service into the box "is something that she's been consistently working on all season."
"She's got a little street soccer in her," Lenard said. "We love that you never know what she's about to do. . . . She's had other good services like that throughout the season, so it's really nice to see her get an assist there. She's been a huge part of our season. And sometimes, it doesn't always show up on the stats, how much of an impact on our team. But I think her joy for the game is what I love about her the most."
The Bears' second goal came off a "quick little audible from the sideline," Lenard said. On a free kick from about 25 yards out, Isgrig had a short touch to Hess, who blasted a shot that forced Escobar to make a diving two-handed save. Hallie Augustyn got to the deflection and had an easy shot into the net for her second goal of the season.
"We weren't originally going to play that to Liv (Hess), so the players did a great job," Lenard said. "They could see the space was open. We had talked about looking for things like that, just problem-solving in the moment. Liv smashed the heck out of it, and Hallie was there to pick up the pieces. Liv really created the opportunity with a heck of a shot."
Hess got her payoff less than five minutes later, when she ripped one into the top left corner of the net off an assist from Purdue transfer Lauren Omholt that pushed the lead to 3-0.
"We've really challenged and encouraged her to be more physical defensively, because it is a very physical league" Lenard said of Hess, who netted the third goal of her freshman season. "She's been getting pushed around by a lot of bigger players throughout the season. And tonight was a great opportunity for her. She really stepped into that. She made some hard tackles, won some 50-50 duels. I thought it was a big turning point for her tonight."
While the Baylor offense tallied at least three goals for the sixth time this season, senior goalkeeper Azul Alvarez had three saves and helped the Bears record their 11th shutout of the year.
"They have one of the best goalkeepers in the country," Holeman said of Alvarez, a first-team All-Big 12 selection. "When we played them earlier this season (a 4-1 BU win in San Marcos), I honestly think two of our shots would have been goals on any other keeper in the country. She's just incredible."
If No. 1 overall seed Notre Dame (14-1-3) knocks off Illinois-Chicago (8-7-6) at 5 p.m. Saturday in South Bend, the Bears will face fourth-seeded and 15th-ranked Wisconsin (14-5-2) in the second round on Thursday. The Badgers trailed at halftime before coming back with three second-half goals in a 3-2 win over Western Michigan.
"For us, it's just focused on one game at a time," Lenard said. Enjoy the moment, enjoy this experience. It's not like we've reached some pinnacle and we're satisfied with that. We want to keep going. These girls love playing, I love watching them play, and all the coaching staff loves coaching them."
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