Sept. 20, 2002
Box Score
WACO, Texas - After battling favored SMU to a 2-2 tie through halftime, the Baylor soccer team suffered two key defensive letdowns in the second half that each led to Mustang goals, allowing visiting SMU to slip out of town with a 4-2 win over the Bears Friday night.
The loss was the first home defeat of the season for Baylor (6-2), snapping an eight-game home winning streak for the Bears that dated to Oct. 5, 2001. The loss came despite a season-high crowd of 643 fans at Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field as Parents' Weekend kicked off on the Baylor campus.
Junior Kim Harvey's hat trick fueled the SMU (4-2) victory. Baylor led twice, at 1-0 and 2-1, but Harvey and sophomore Erin MacCallum accounted for all the scoring in the second half as the Mustangs pulled away.
"I thought we played well," Baylor head coach Nick Cowell said. "We outshot them, and territorily we had a big advantage.
"We had four defensive breakdowns. It's possible the absence of [junior defender Melissa] Humke affected things in the back."
Baylor outshot SMU 18-13 on the night, the seventh time in eight games the Bears have outshot their opponents. The scoring started early, as junior Ryan Lee got Baylor on the board just 3:10 into the game with an unassisted goal. That lead held for just 10 minutes, before Harvey tied the game with a header into the right side of the net past Baylor starting keeper Monica Housden.
Redshirt freshman Tiffany Boshers put the Bears back on top at the 27:02 mark, as her left-footed shot found the far corner off a pass from sophomore Ginny Rosario-Tull. Harvey tied the game before the half, heading in a corner kick from senior Tara Comfort at the 35:18 mark.
With 21:35 remaining in the second half, sophomore April Robertson's apparent go-ahead goal was waved off when a Baylor player was whistled offsides. Capitalizing on the second life given, SMU's MacCallum took in a pass from Comfort and broke away to score four minutes later, putting the Mustangs up 3-2. Harvey completed her hat trick after a free kick at the 75:12 mark to make the final score 4-2.
The four goals scored by SMU is the highest total allowed by the Baylor defense this year. Playing without an Humke in the back, the Bears appeared to miss their normal rhythm in front of Housden and, in the second half, freshman Tanya Sena.
The Bears are off this Sunday, then begin the Big 12 Conference season next weekend on the road. Baylor plays at Oklahoma Friday at 7 p.m., then takes on Oklahoma State Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
