Box Score

Facing elimination and most likely the end of the season, Baylor soccer (11-5-2) rallied to tie it in the 88th minute and then beat 14th-ranked Texas, 2-1, on Julie James' golden goal in the first overtime period Wednesday at the Big 12 Championship in Kansas City, Mo.

"Just a lot of grit, a lot of effort from our team," said Baylor coach Paul Jobson, whose team advanced to the semifinals for the sixth year in a row. "Mentality is what we're about, and I think we showed that today, that never-say-die mentality. We fought through to get the tie game and then pushed through to get the winner. We beat a great team today, and just excited to keep playing."

That was seriously in doubt when the Longhorns' Katie Glenn, who also scored the golden goal in a 1-0 OT victory over the Bears two weeks ago, netted a one-on-one breakaway opportunity in the 72nd minute.

Desperately needing a goal to keep the season going, Jobson started "pushing numbers forward" to create a scoring chance in the last 15 minutes.

"You run the risk of giving up a second goal, so it's really a risky thing to do," Jobson said. "But, you've got to do it when you have to have the win."

With the clock winding down to the last few minutes, Sarah King served in a perfect pass from the left sideline to the far right side of the penalty box. From point-blank range, junior forward Lauren Piercy drilled the kick back to the left side of the net for the game-tying goal.

"(Piercy) stopped on a dime and put it back the other way," Jobson said of Piercy's third goal of the season and 16th of her career. "From the goalkeeper leaning one way, she put it back across her body in the bottom left corner. It was just great concentration and focus to put that where it needed to be. And it came the day before (Piercy's) 21st birthday."

With the late goal in regulation play, Jobson said, "you have a ton of momentum, there's a lot of belief, there's a lot of things going your way. So, you have a lot of energy that you're able to put forward to going after the next goal you need."

Baylor got that just into the ninth minute of the first overtime period. In a give-and-go with the Bears' two All-Big 12 midfielders, Julie James fed Aline De Lima with a pass to the middle, got it back on a beautifully threaded kick from De Lima and kicked it past a diving Texas goalkeeper Nicole Curry to the near post for the game winner.

"Julie was able to put it, again, in the bottom left corner, just under the goalkeeper's arms," Jobson said. "Really, just a great combination through the midfield for two first-team All-Big 12 players."

Asked about Baylor's success in the Big 12 tournament, Jobson said, "I don't know if it has anything to do with the first round or not. I just think it came through for us today, all the pieces fit together, and we were able to walk out of here with a win."

The Bears advance to the semifinals to face top-seeded and 16th-ranked Oklahoma State (16-2-2) at 4:30 p.m. Friday at the Swope Soccer Village. OSU scored two first-half goals in a 2-1 victory over in-state rival Oklahoma.

In the regular season, Baylor outshot the Cowgirls, 18-13, but lost 1-0 on a header goal by Haley Woodard in the ninth minute of the first overtime period.

"It's another game that we felt like got away from us in overtime," said Jobson, whose team is now 3-4-2 in overtime games this season. "If anything, it's something that really motivates our girls to have another chance at a team that we felt like the result could have been different and we let something get away.

"Anytime you have an opportunity to play the conference champion, you're the underdog and all the pressure is on them to win it all. I know the girls are excited about the matchup. . . . They're a great team, and we're just excited about the opportunity to play them again."

The Longhorns cracked through the Baylor backline, scoring a one-on-one breakaway goal in the 72nd minute to take the 1-0 lead.

Facing elimination, the Bears kept pushing, running away with the tying goal as the final minutes were winding down in the 88th minute.

Sarah King pushed in from the sideline, serving in a perfect pass to Lauren Piercy into the far right side of the penalty box. Left unguarded by the Longhorn defense down into the goal box, Piercy drove home the tying goal to knot the match at 1-1 and force overtime.

Again, with the clock ticking into the final minutes of the first overtime period, the Bears cracked through the UT backline in the 99th minute.

Julie James worked it across midfield, starting a give-and-go attack with fellow All-Big 12 midfielder, Aline De Lima. De Lima dribbled up a few steps before cutting a pass back to James that worked her in front and alone in the penalty box with an open look at goal.

James gathered the pass and drove a left-footed goal into the left back of the net, lifting the Bears past the Longhorns with the golden goal, avenging an overtime loss to UT in Waco on Oct. 20.

NOTES
*Baylor notched its first win over a ranked opponent since defeating No. 22 Oklahoma in Norman on Oct. 7, 2016.

*Baylor improved to 3-4-2 in overtime matches this season.

*Baylor improved to 11-11-3 all-time in the Big 12 Soccer Championship, including 2-2-1 under Jobson.

*Baylor has now won or advanced by shootout in at least one match at the Big 12 Championship 10 times in 15 appearances, including six in a row.

*Julie James scored her third goal of the season and the 10th of her collegiate career. She also notched her second gamewinning goal of the season and the sixth in her career.

*Lauren Piercy scored her third goal of the season and the 16th in her BU career.

*Aline De Lima dealt out her fourth assist of the season, taking her season point total to 12 and her career points up to an even 20.

*Sarah King dished her third assist of the season, taking her career assist count up to 18.

TOP QUOTE
"I think we showed that never-say-die mentality. We pushed through to get that tying goal and then the game-winner. I couldn't be more proud of our team's effort and I'm just excited we get to keep playing." - Baylor head coach Paul Jobson

STAT OF THE MATCH
Both of Baylor's goals came with under three minutes remaining in the period, with the tying goal coming with 2:08 remaining and the golden goal in overtime with just 1:57 left.

WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor will move on to the semifinal round of the Big 12 Soccer Championship, facing the regular season champions, Oklahoma State, on Friday, Nov. 3, at 4:30 p.m. at Swope Soccer Village.

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