Nov. 16, 2017
Baylor Game Notes 
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation
Baylor's Road to Orlando for the Women's World Cup goes through College Station and an NCAA Championship second-round matchup against defending national champion USC.
The 23rd-ranked Bears (14-5-2), riding a four-game winning streak, will face the third-seeded and ninth-ranked Trojans (15-3-1) at 3:30 p.m. Friday at Texas A&M's Ellis Field.
"You have to look at it that the majority of that team played in the national championship last year," Baylor coach Paul Jobson said, "where there's not a player on our team that had been in the postseason. There's a big difference there, but I think the mentality we've had all season will get us through the stretch there."
It helps, Jobson said, that Baylor went through a gauntlet of nationally ranked Big 12 teams that included No. 6 West Virginia, 17th-ranked Oklahoma State and No. 18 Texas. The Bears knocked off Texas and OSU in the Big 12 tournament before beating TCU, 2-1, in the final.
"Our conference prepares us for this time of year," Jobson said. "We had to beat two nationally ranked programs to win a Big 12 championship. That prepares us. We've known all season we can play with anybody and beat anybody in the country. . . . The 32 best teams in the country are playing right now. Fortunately, we're one of them, and we think we really belong."
Both teams have three first-team all-conference picks. Senior center midfielder Aline De Lima, who leads the Bears with seven goals and seven assists, is joined on the All-Big 12 team by senior defender Precious Akinyirige and junior midfielder Julie James.
After losing four overtime games and scoring just eight goals combined in nine conference games, the Bears exploded for seven goals in three games at the Big 12 Championship and then beat Rice, 3-2, in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
"I think we're peaking at the right time," Jobson said. "We had a few injuries we thought might knock us down a level, but we showed our depth through this season after we lost two pretty key players to major injuries (Jackie Crowther and Kylie Ross). We're probably as healthy as we've been all year, so I'm excited about that as well."
USC has made four straight NCAA tournament appearances and 16 overall, going 20-13-3 and winning national championships in 2007 and '16. Last year, the Trojans knocked off top-ranked West Virginia, 3-1, in the final.
Six starters return from last year's national championship game, including first-team All-Pac-12 honorees Alex Anthony and Ally Prisock. Also selected on the all-conference first team was freshman midfielder Savannah DeMelo, who redshirted last year to play for the USA U20 team at the U20 World Cup in New Guineau.
Fourth-year head coach Keidane McAlpine also had to replace five players taken in last year's NWSL College Draft and had to go to double overtime to beat Eastern Washington, 2-1, last Saturday after dropping back-to-back games to top-ranked Stanford and No. 4 UCLA.
"When you have a national powerhouse, even when there's turnover, there's not a lot of turnover," Jobson said. "They're bringing in great kids behind them, and that's what we're striving to do as a program. You look at West Virginia in our conference. They lost two national players of the year last year, and they're still contending for a national championship this year."
Second-seeded and sixth-ranked Texas A&M (18-2-1) faces Notre Dame (10-6-3) at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the other second-round matchup, with the winners squaring off at 6 p.m. Sunday in a Sweet 16 matchup at Ellis Field. The Aggies have won 14 in a row, beating Lamar, 1-0, last Friday on an own goal.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - No. 23 Baylor soccer (14-5-2, 4-4-1 Big 12) looks to keep its remarkable season rolling, facing No. 9 and the No. 3-seeded USC Trojans (15-3-1, 8-2-1 Pac-12) on Friday, Nov. 17, at 3:30 p.m. at Ellis Field, the home field of the weekend's host and the region's No. 2 seed, Texas A&M.
The Bears can secure the program's second trip into the third round of the NCAA Soccer Championship, repeating the run of the 2012 squad, which is also the last team to make the tournament field.
BU and USC, the 2016 national champions, have only met twice, with the Trojans taking a 1-0 win in both meetings in Los Angeles, though the most recent trip dates back to 2000.
The Trojans rallied back from an early deficit to knock off Eastern Washington in overtime, advancing to the round of 32. The winner of Friday's match will face the winner of Texas A&M and Notre Dame in the Sweet 16, kicking off Sunday, Nov. 19, at 6 p.m. at Ellis Field.
Both weekend matches will be live streamed on ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN app.
For live scoring, all updates and an inside look at the program, follow @BaylorFutbol on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
MATCH INFO
Fri., Nov. 17 vs. USC @ 3:30 p.m. CT
Ellis Field (College Station, Texas)
Stats: 12thMan.com
Video: ESPN3.com and WatchESPN app
#23 BAYLOR BEARS
2017 Record: 14-5-2
2017 Big 12 Record: 4-4-1
Head Coach: Paul Jobson
Career: 35-18-7 (3rd season)
BU: 35-18-7 (3rd season)
#9 USC TROJANS
2017 Record: 15-3-1
2017 Pac-12 Record: 8-2-1
Head Coach: Keidane McAlpine
Career: 127-76-25 (11th season)
USC: 61-19-8 (4th season)
Last Meeting: Aug. 24, 2017
Series: USC leads, 2-0-0
First Meeting: Sept. 18, 1998
USC won, 1-0, in Los Angeles
Last Meeting: Sept. 8, 2000
USC won, 1-0, in Los Angeles
Jobson vs USC: Never met
BAYLOR QUICK NOTES
* Baylor looks to repeat and improve on its last preseason run in 2012, with a win over the Trojans pushing BU into the Sweet 16 for the second time in program history. The Bears are 4-3-1 all-time in NCAA tourney play and 0-1-1 in the Round of 32.
* Baylor is fresh off a 3-2 win over the Rice Owls in the opening round of the NCAA Soccer Championship, highlighted by a three-assist night for Lauren Piercy and a game winner goal for Raegan Padgett.
* Baylor has notched some impressive wins this season over ranked opponents, looking to add a win over a top-10 opponent for the first time since beating Texas A&M, 2-1, on Oct. 1, 2000, in Waco.
* Baylor won the program's second Big 12 Championship title, knocking off No. 14 Texas and No. 16 Oklahoma State before downing TCU for the conference tournament title. Aline De Lima earned the tourney's Offensive MVP honors after scoring two goals and four assists over the three matches.
* Baylor has now had 10 or more wins in 11 of its 22 seasons as a program, six of the last eight, and two-straight under third-year head coach Paul Jobson. The 13 wins for BU is the most since the 2012 squad set a program record with 19 wins.
* Baylor has had at least eight wins in, now, nine straight seasons and has 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.
* Baylor had four total Big 12 postseason honors, including three All-Big 12 first team selections, the most ever in a single-season for the program. Aline De Lima, Precious Akanyirige, and Julie James earned the all-conference honors, while Jennifer Wandt was named the top freshman GK on the Big 12 All-Freshman team.
* Baylor set a program record and led the Big 12 with 17 Academic All-Big 12 selections, with all 17 earning first team honors. BU has had 10+ selections for 11-straight seasons.
* Junior midfielder Julie James was Baylor's lone representative on the 2017 Preseason All-Big 12 Team after being named 2016 All-Big 12 and NSCAA All-Region.
* From July 23-26, a group of current and former Baylor soccer student-athletes served on a mission trip to Guatemala alongside Baylor FCA. The mission team served the children of Guatemala City and shared the love of Christ through the game of soccer.
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