Sept. 24, 2015  at 
Oklahoma State (5-4-0) at Baylor (5-4-1)
Waco, Texas
Betty Lou Mays Field (3,000)
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FRIDAY, SEPT. 25 | 7:00 P.M.
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WACO, Texas - hosts Oklahoma State this weekend to begin Big 12 Conference play. The Bears (5-4-1) and Cowgirls (5-4-0) face off Friday at 7 p.m. CT at Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field.
BU heads into the tilt on a five-match winning streak, while OSU has won three in a row. The Bears topped Air Force (2-1) and Colorado College (2-0) on the road last weekend. The Cowgirls took down Arizona State (3-2) at home and UMKC (2-1) on the road last weekend. Last season, OSU defeated BU in regular season action in Stillwater, Oklahoma, in a 2-0 decision but the No. 7 seeded Bears bounced back to upset the No. 2 seeded Cowgirls in the Big 12 Soccer Championship first round, 1-0.
The match will feature live stats via GameTracker on BaylorBears.com. Twitter updates can be found on the @BaylorFutbol official account.
Baylor Bear Foundation Preview
By Jerry Hill
Riding the momentum of a five-game winning streak, the Baylor soccer team (5-4-1) opens Big 12 Conference play this weekend, hosting Oklahoma State (5-4-0) at 7 p.m. Friday at Betty Lou Mays Field.
"Obviously, you'd rather be going that direction than the other going into conference play," Baylor head coach Paul Jobson said. "I think the girls are just excited to start Big 12. I love the momentum we have. The first four games were only disappointing because of the result, but the way we were playing was really good. And I knew if we kept doing what we were doing, we would hit a stride. And we've done that."
Since scoring four goals in the first five games and starting 0-4-1, the Bears turned that around by netting 21 goals in the last five and reeling off consecutive wins over Incarnate Word, Northern Illinois, UTSA, Air Force and Colorado College.
"I think it's given a lot of the younger girls and the girls scoring goals a lot of confidence going into it," said senior forward Bri Campos, who has scored two goals with three assists. "But like the coaches say, nothing changes, it's another game, another good opportunity to get better. I think we'll approach it like we do every other game."
Freshmen Sarah King and Lauren Piercy have swept the last two Big 12 Newcomer of the Week awards and have combined for six goals and nine assists. But Piercy will have to sit out Friday's league opener after receiving a red card with one minute left in Sunday's 2-0 win at Colorado College.
"If there's one area that we're deep in, it's the front line," Jobson said. "So, when things like this happen, you can go on to the next person. Obviously, Lauren is a very important piece of what we've been doing. She's put together a lot of great things for us in the attack, so there will be some things we will miss by not having her there. But we're training a ton of girls and we'll be able to slide somebody else in."
Oklahoma State, which has made the NCAA Tournament seven of the last eight years, holds a 10-8-3 edge in the all-time series against Baylor. Last year, the Cowgirls dominated the Bears in Stillwater, 2-0, but BU came back to stun second-seeded OSU, 1-0, in the Big 12 Championship quarterfinals.
"Last year, I think we were the tale of two teams," Jobson said. "When we played them at their place, it was kind of a lackluster effort and I don't think we gave all we had to be able to compete against Oklahoma State. I think we learned our lesson and played them the second time and brought a little bit more. And, obviously, the role of the underdog is a role we've always kind of embraced."
Junior forward Courtney Dike, who played for Nigeria in the Women's World Cup this summer, leads the Cowgirls with three goals and three assists this season and has 19 career goals.
In a scheduling quirk, Baylor will play three straight one-game weekends, facing Iowa State (5-4-0) and Kansas (4-4-1) on the next two Friday dates on the road.
"I think for us, it does play out well that our next three weekends are one-game weekends instead of two," Jobson said. "That definitely helps us for recovery and being fresh as we get to the middle of the Big 12 season. But right now, we're not looking past Friday's game against Oklahoma State."
MATCH INFO Fri., Sept. 25 v OSU @ 7:00 p.m.
Betty Lou Mays Field (3,000)
Stats: www.BaylorBears.com
Audio/Video: N/A
BAYLOR BEARS
2015 Record: 5-4-1
2015 Big 12 Record: 0-0-0
Head Coach: Paul Jobson
Career: 5-4-1 (1st season)
BU: 5-4-1 (1st season)
OKLAHOMA STATE COWGIRLS
2015 Record: 5-4-0
2015 Big 12 Record: 0-0-0
Head Coach: Colin Carmichael
Career: 151-56-29 (11th season)
OSU: 151-56-29 (11th season)
BAYLOR QUICK NOTES
* Baylor holds edges over its 2015 opponents in shots (173-58), shots on goal (85-26), goals (25-10) and corner kicks (45-33).
* Among NCAA rankings, Baylor is eighth in assists (24), 11th in goals (25) and points (74), and 21st in goals per game (2.50).
* Among the Big 12, Baylor is first in assists, second in goals per game, goals and points.
* Freshman Sarah King's eight assists on the season lead the Big 12 and rank second nationally -- she also ranks tied for fourth all-time at BU in assists by a freshman.
* Baylor's 2-0 win at Colorado College Sept. 20 was the program's 200th all-time win (200-135-43) since starting in 1996.
* Baylor has 38 shutouts over the last three seasons and three in 2015.
* Baylor is 25-2-1 when scoring first since 2013 and 5-0-0 in 2015.
* Baylor has lost all four matches in 2015 by one goal and two losses came in overtime (one in double OT).
* Baylor scored its most goals in a match in an 8-0 win vs. UTSA since a 9-0 win at home over Prairie View A&M Sept. 19, 2010.
* Baylor has won five matches in a row for the first time since Aug. 23 - Sept. 6, 2013 (also five straight wins).
* Baylor has scored 21 goals and allowed two in its last five matches.
* Baylor has held edges in shots and shots on goal in nine of its 10 matches this season (Purdue tied in shots).
* Baylor earned the NSCAA 2014-15 Team Academic Award for fourth time in last five years with 3.46 team GPA Sept. 23.
* Freshman Lauren Piercy was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week Sept. 22 for scoring game-winning goals at Air Force and Colorado College.
* Sophomore Sara Martinson tallied her fifth career win, fourth in a row and second career shutout Sept. 20.
-BU-
