Sept. 15, 2016 By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation
Playing a home game at Betty Lou Mays Field for the first time in 19 days, the Baylor soccer team (5-3-0) will host the Washington Huskies (5-1-1) at 7 p.m. Friday and Jackson State (0-6-0) at 5 p.m. Sunday.
"There's a lot of excitement about being at home. We've been gone the last two weekends," Baylor coach Paul Jobson said. "Out of the last 11 days, we were home three. It's just great to be home, great to be back in Waco and playing here at Betty Lou Mays. We're bringing in a great top-25 team in Washington. It should be a great soccer match, and that's the one we're focused on right now."
The Bears are coming off a frustrating weekend that saw them drop a pair of 1-0 decisions, allowing a goal in the 106th minute of a double-overtime game at Samford and then falling at Auburn despite significant advantages in shots (13-8) and shots on goal (8-3).
"It's a little heart-wrenching at the moment," senior defender Lindsay Burns said, "but you have to sulk for a couple minutes and then look to the next one. The most encouraging thing is how well we did play. Although it didn't go our way, I think we see our potential for the rest of the season."
After having a first-half goal called back because of a questionable offside call against Samford, the Bears "dominated just about every statistical category" against Auburn, "except for the one that counts," Jobson said.
"We just couldn't find the back of the net," he said. "I thought we played extremely well. We limited Auburn's opportunities. We had a great shot from Caitlin Schwartz off a corner kick that they cleared off the line. Those kinds of things happen on the road. But, I thought we played really, really well against two great teams on the road. We would have loved to have come away, obviously, with two wins or at least one of them. But we didn't. So, we have to pick up and move forward."
Washington, which is receiving votes in two of the national polls, has won five of its last six after opening with a 2-1 loss on the road at Portland. Last weekend, playing at a neutral site in Portland, Ore., the Huskies tied St. John's, 0-0, and blasted Southern Utah, 3-0.
Burns, a native of Yakima, Wash., said there will be some "familiar faces" on the Washington team.
"I'll probably just say `Hi' to them at the game," she said. "Otherwise, just focusing on the here and now and preparing."
On Sunday, Burns and fellow seniors Emory Cason, Bridget Hamway, Marissa Sullivan and Ashley York will be recognized in a "Senior Day" ceremony when the Bears face winless Jackson State.
"Every year, you want to find an opportunity to honor your seniors and recognize the sacrifices they've made over their career here," Jobson said. "We started doing this a couple years ago in the middle of the year, and we've seen this kind of catch on around the country where teams are doing it everywhere. It's important to honor our seniors. But at the same time, because we love them so much, it can become a really emotional day. We're trying to make sure it doesn't become too emotional where we can't play soccer."
Baylor remains home to open Big 12 play next week with a matchup against Texas at 6 p.m. Friday, in a game that will be televised by FOX Sports Plus.
WACO, Texas -- Baylor soccer begins a three-match home stand with a 7 p.m. CT match against Washington on Friday and 5 p.m. tilt with Jackson State on Sunday's Senior Day.
Both matches will feature live stats on BaylorBears.com and Sunday's game will have a live audio stream via Baylor All-Access on BaylorBears.com. Twitter updates will also be provided on the @BaylorFutbol official account.
MATCH INFO
Fri., Sept. 16 v UW @ 7 p.m.
Betty Lou Mays Field (3,000)
Stats: BaylorBears.com
Sun., Sept. 18 v JSU @ 5 p.m.
Betty Lou Mays Field (3,000)
Stats: BaylorBears.com
Audio: BaylorBears.com
BAYLOR BEARS
2016 Record: 5-3-0
2016 Big 12 Record: 0-0-0
Head Coach: Paul Jobson
Career: 14-9-4 (2nd season)
BU: 14-9-4 (2nd season)
WASHINGTON HUSKIES
2016 Record: 5-1-1
2016 Pac-12 Record: 0-0-0
Head Coach: Lesle Gallimore
Career: 300-230-58 (27th season)
UW: 268-204-49 (23rd season)
JACKSON STATE LADY TIGERS
2016 Record: 0-5-0
2016 SWAC Record: 0-0-0
Head Coach: Stephen Peck
Career: 35-33-6 (5th season)
JSU: 0-5-0 (1st season)
BAYLOR QUICK NOTES
* Baylor is undefeated in 17 of its last 22 matches, dating back to the 2015 season.
* Baylor has 45 shutouts over the last four seasons (four in 2016).
* Baylor is 34-2-3 when scoring first since 2013.
* Baylor is 124-48-22 all-time at home, 54-16-11 under the Jobsons at Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field and 2-0-0 in 2016.
* Baylor is 3-3-0 on the road in 2016.
* Among NCAA leaders, Baylor ranks 25th in goal against average (0.490), 45th in shutout percentage (0.500).
*Among Big 12 leaders, Baylor ranks second in goals against average, third in shutout percentage and fourth in shots on goal per game (7.63).
*Among individual leaders, sophomore forward Lauren Piercy leads the NCAA in game-winning goals (4), ranks 42nd in goals (5, first in Big 12), 63rd in points (11, second in Big 12). Junior goalkeeper Sara Martinson ranks 30th in shutouts (3, second in Big 12) and 23rd in goals against average (0.437, second in Big 12).
* Baylor holds significant edges over its opponents in goals (12-4), shots (130-38), shots on goal (61-12) and corners (46-23).
* Martinson's scoreless streak ended Sept. 9 at Samford at 490:09, passing her career high of 384:57 from Sept. 20 through Oct. 9, 2015. Her streak from Aug. 26-Sept. 9, 2016 ranks fourth all-time at Baylor. Her previous streak ranks eighth all-time in program history.
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