Sept. 1, 2016 WACO, Texas -- Baylor soccer starts a four-game road trip in Illinois this weekend with a 7 p.m. CT match at Northern Illinois on Friday and 1 p.m. tilt at Illinois Chicago on Sunday.
Friday's match will mark a homecoming for BU head coach Paul Jobson and assistant coach Marci Jobson as Marci was head of the NIU women's soccer program from 2005-07 while Paul was an assistant coach. The husband-wife coaching duo came to Baylor in 2008 and have since switched roles. The Jobsons posted a 23-27-9 record at NIU and own a 90-50-28 record at Baylor. The two schools met for the first time last season and the Bears came out on top, 2-0, in Waco. Both matches this weekend will feature live stats on NIUHuskies.com and UICFlames.com while Friday's match will have a video stream on NIUHuskies.com. Twitter updates will also be provided on the @BaylorFutbol official account.
MATCH INFO
Fri., Sept. 2 at NIU @ 7 p.m.
NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex
Stats: NIUHuskies.com
Video: NIUHuskies.com
Sun., Sept. 4 at UIC @ 1 p.m.
Flames Field (1,000) Stats: UICFlames.com
Audio/Video: N/A
BAYLOR BEARS
2016 Record: 3-1-0
2016 Big 12 Record: 0-0-0
Head Coach: Paul Jobson
Career: 12-7-4 (2nd season)
BU: 12-7-4 (2nd season)
NORTHERN ILLINOIS HUSKIES
2016 Record: 1-1-1
2016 MAC Record: 0-0-0
Head Coach: John Ross
Career: 24-44-13 (5th season)
NIU: 24-44-13 (5th season)
ILLINOIS CHICAGO FLAMES
2016 Record: 1-1-2
2016 Horizon Record: 0-0-0
Head Coach: Brian Rigby
Career: 9-28-4 (3rd season)
UIC: 9-28-4 (3rd season)
BAYLOR QUICK NOTES
* Baylor is 3-1-0 or better to start a season for the sixth time in the last seven seasons.
* Baylor is undefeated in 15 of its last 18 matches, dating back to the 2015 season.
* Baylor has 43 shutouts over the last four seasons (two in 2016).
* Baylor is 32-2-3 when scoring first since 2013.
* Baylor is 124-48-22 all-time at home and 54-16-11 under the Jobsons at Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field.
* Among NCAA leaders, Baylor ranks 19th in assists (10), 22nd in goals (10), 23rd in points (30), 24th in shots on goal per game (9.5), 25th in shots per game (19.8), 32nd in points per game (7.5), 37th in goals per game (2.5), 48th in goals against average (0.5) and 55th in shutout percentage (.500).
*Among Big 12 leaders, Baylor ranks first in goals, points and shots on goal per game, second in points per game, goals per game, shots per game, shutout percentage and assists and third in goals against average.
*Among individual leaders, sophomore forward Lauren Piercy leads the NCAA in game-winning goals (3), ranks 10th in goals (4, first in Big 12), 19th in goals per game (1.0, first in Big 12), 21st in points (8, first in Big 12), 32nd in shots on goal per game (2.5, third in Big 12) and 42nd in points per game (2.0, second in Big 12). Senior defender Emory Cason, senior midfielder Ashley York and sophomore midfielder Sarah King each rank 47th in the NCAA in assists (2, third in Big 12). Junior goalkeeper Sara Martinson ranks 61st in the NCAA in goals against average (0.54, fourth in Big 12).
* Baylor holds significant edges over its opponents in goals (10-2), shots (79-13), shots on goal (38-4) and corner kicks (25-7).
* Piercy was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week on Aug. 30. The weekly honor is Piercy's first from the Big 12 this season and third in her career, making her the second player in program history to earn three career weekly Big 12 awards (Ashley Noah, 2004-07). The accolade marks the first time she's been selected as the league's offensive player of week as she was named newcomer of the week twice last season. Since the program started in 1996, Baylor has earned 12 Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors. Piercy netted both game-winners for Baylor last weekend and three goals for a six-point week.
* Piercy scored her fourth goal of the season Aug. 28 vs. Incarnate Word and 10th of her career for her eighth point of the season and 21st career point. She now has three goals scored in her last two games and 10 in 21 career games. She's the 17th player in program history to reach the 10 goal plateau.
* Piercy tallied her third game-winning goal Aug. 28 vs. Incarnate Word (second in a row) and seventh career game-winning goal to move into a tie for sixth on Baylor's all-time list.
* Sophomore midfielder Sarah King had her second assist of the season Aug. 28 vs. Incarnate Word and 12th of her career for her fourth point of the season and 18th of her career. She moved into a tie for 10th all-time on Baylor's career assists list.
* Baylor scored its most goals in a game in a 5-1 win Aug. 26 vs. Purdue since an 8-0 win over UTSA in Waco on Sept. 13, 2015.
* With the win over Purdue, Baylor is now 17-2-2 all-time in home openers and 8-1-0 under the Jobsons.
-BU-
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation Returning to the place where Paul and Marci Jobson "cut our teeth," the Baylor soccer team (3-1-0) will face Northern Illinois (1-1-1) at 7 p.m. Friday in DeKalb, Ill., to kick off a four-game road swing.
"It will be really neat to get back up there," said Paul Jobson, who was an assistant with his wife, Marci, in three years at Northern Illinois (2005-07) before coming to Baylor. "It was a special place for Marci and I. It's where we got our start as college coaches. We kind of cut our teeth there and learned a lot. Obviously, we're just approaching it as another game and we'll limit the distractions . . . we've got to get up there and do a job."
The Bears are coming off a 2-0 home stand that saw them roll over Purdue, 5-1, before shutting out Incarnate Word, 3-0. Baylor has allowed just two goals in four games and has out-shot its opponents, 79-13.
"We don't require our goalkeepers to do a whole lot because of how we play defensively," Jobson said. "But when they're called upon, they have to be able to do their job. And Sara (Martinson) has done that. Defense is just something we pride ourselves on, always have. And Sara, when she's had to make some saves, has been able to do that for us. That's her job, and she's stepped up to do it."
While Martinson has controlled the back end, with help from senior defenders Lindsay Burns and Emory Cason, sophomore forward Lauren Piercy is the reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week. She leads the Big 12 and ranks 10th nationally with four goals, tallying a combined three goals in the home wins over Purdue and Incarnate Word.
"Anytime you can come out like she does and make it look so easy to score four goals, that's awesome," said sophomore Sarah King, who's tied for the team lead with two assists.
After missing both preseason exhibition games, Piercy has hit the ground running, following up on the team-high six goals she scored as a freshman.
"She started off the preseason with a little bit of a ding and we held her a little bit, just so she could get better and we wouldn't have to worry about the injury lingering throughout the season," Jobson said of Piercy. "And I think we did the right thing. Lauren's just the ultimate competitor. Anytime she steps on the field, she's ready to compete. . . . One thing we've learned from last year to this year is where she can be the most successful on the field for us, how to give her the ball where she needs it."
Since opening the season with a 0-0 tie against Illinois-Chicago, Northern Illinois fell to Milwaukee, 3-1, and broke into the win column by beating Western Illinois, 1-0, on sophomore Taylor Sarver's second goal of the year.
Fifth-year coach John Ross got the Huskies back to the MAC Tournament semifinals for the first time since the Jobsons took them there in 2007.
"They're definitely a more organized team. John is getting the players where he wants them and what he wants from them," Paul said. "They've got some players in some positions that will create some difficulties for us that we've got to play around. I think he's got them in a good position, a lot further along than they were this time a year ago."
In the first-ever meeting between the two programs, then-freshman Julie James scored both goals in Baylor's 2-0 win over UNI last year in Waco.
Wrapping up the weekend, the Bears will face Illinois-Chicago at 1 p.m. Sunday. The Flames (1-1-2) are coming off their first win of the season, dominating New Mexico State, 4-1, and will face Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on the road Friday before returning home for the Sunday afternoon matchup.
