Baylor Game Notes

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation

After going through a rash of injuries to his goalkeepers over the last few years, if nothing else, Baylor soccer coach Paul Jobson is prepared for the worst.

Sophomore Hannah Parrish, who had allowed just one goal combined in two exhibitions and three regular-season games, suffered an injury in practice this week that will keep her out for an undetermined length of time. Freshman Jennifer Wandt will see her first collegiate action this weekend when the Bears (2-0-1) host UTSA (1-2-0) at 7 p.m. Friday and Ball State (1-2-1) at 11:30 a.m. Sunday at Betty Lou Mays Field.

"If you look at the goalkeeper position for us over the years, it's been that way for a long time," said Jobson, who added former softball shortstop Jordan Strickland to the roster as an emergency goalkeeper two years ago. "Probably not as critical, but in some ways it's like the pitcher in softball. It's a pretty big deal.

"As I said earlier this year, while we're extremely young in the goal, it's probably the most experienced young group I've ever had. We'll rely on Jen now. She's an incredible young goalkeeper, we had her all spring, and she can do some great things for us back there. We were fortunate that really in a lot of ways we had two No. 1s. We've just got to rely on Jen moving forward, and I think she's a great option for us."

Through the first three games, Parrish had played all 299 ½ minutes, with seven saves, two shutouts and a Big 12-best 0.30 goals-against average. Sophomore Maggie Burton was already out for the year with a torn ACL.

An early enrollee from Brookfield, Wisc., Wandt played three seasons at Brookfield East High School and was part of the Player Development Program for the last three years, playing in the North American Cup finals in 2014. She was also a three-time all-conference guard on the basketball team and served as the team captain in 2014-15.

Backing her up will be sophomore Kau'inohea Taylor, a 2016 signee from Kamuela, Hawaii who was added to the roster after Burton's injury.

"She's got some training to do, she's a little behind in that area, but she's a competitive kid, extremely athletic," Jobson said of Taylor, who was also a state champion in the high jump and played volleyball and softball in high school. "And if we have to rely on her, we know we can. But we hope, from a program standpoint, that we don't have to go that far. Just out of the sheer numbers of goalkeepers we're going through this year, we want to keep everybody healthy and get Hannah back as soon as possible, too."

With last Sunday's game against Houston Baptist postponed, rescheduled and then canceled, the Bears haven't played in eight days since a scoreless draw at Rice on Aug. 24.

"I would have liked to have gotten in a second game, but it does set us up pretty well this weekend to be really fresh at a pretty critical part of the season for us coming out of preseason, when you tend to overdo it a little bit," Jobson said.

Sophomore forward Marissa Kinsey said the Rice game "felt like a loss."

"We were disappointed not to get the win, and that's not any discredit to Rice," Jobson said. "I think it's something our team looks at and goes, `OK, we've got to get better in these areas if we're going to be able to beat these big teams.' Because we all understand that if we're going to get where we want to be at the end of the season, in the NCAA Tournament, we've got to win games like that, not tie them."

Baylor is 9-0-1 all-time against UTSA, including an 8-0 shutout victory two years ago when three different players scored two goals apiece. The Roadrunners have lost two in a row after a 2-1 season-opening victory over Abilene Christian.

Five players will be recognized on Senior Day - Precious Akanyirige, Delanie Davis, Aline De Lima, Lauren O'Connell and Caitlin Schwartz. Additionally, anyone with a ticket for Saturday's football season opener between Baylor and Liberty can present their ticket at the box office to receive free admission to Friday's soccer game.

"It's an awesome opportunity for us to maybe get some folks in the stands that normally aren't here to support us," Jobson said. "We encourage all the Baylor football fans that are in town the night before, probably parking in our parking lot over there, to come out Friday night. Just walk up the walkway and see a great match with some extremely competitive young women that get after it here for Baylor University."

Friday's match with UTSA will serve as both Senior Day and Preparing Champions for Life Day, celebrating the successes of the current seniors, as well as past student-athletes, in all facets of life.

The Baylor ticket office is offering free admission to Friday night's match for all fans that have a ticket to Saturday's football season opener between Baylor and Liberty. Fans can present their ticket at soccer box office to receive their complimentary tickets.

Baylor had a long break after a Thursday, Aug. 24, contest with Rice in Houston, ending in a scoreless draw. The typical Sunday match with HBU was pushed back a day and eventually canceled, with the Huskies unable to leave Houston during the catastrophic flooding from Hurricane Harvey.

For the first time in program history, every road match will have a streaming radio broadcast, available to subscribers on BaylorBears.com/allaccess.

For all updates and an inside look at the program, follow @BaylorFutbol on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

MATCH INFO
Fri., Sept. 1 vs. UTSA @ 7 p.m.
Betty Lou Mays Field (3,000)
Stats: BaylorBears.com
Audio & Video: BaylorBears.com
Sun., Sept. 3 vs. Ball St. @ 11:30 a.m.
Betty Lou Mays Field (3,000)
Stats: BaylorBears.com
Audio & Video: BaylorBears.com

BAYLOR BEARS
2017 Record: 2-0-1
2017 Big 12 Record: 0-0-0
Head Coach: Paul Jobson
Career: 23-13-6 (3rd season)
BU: 23-13-6 (3rd season)

UTSA ROADRUNNERS
Series: BU leads, 9-0-1
Streak: BU has won 3
First Meeting: Sept. 15, 2006
BU won 3-1 in Waco
Last Meeting: Sept. 13, 2015
BU won 1-0 (OT) in Waco
Jobson vs UTSA: First meeting

BALL STATE CARDINALS
Series: First meeting
Jobson vs BSU: First meeting

BAYLOR QUICK NOTES
* Baylor shuffled last weekend's schedule, pushing the Rice match up a day to Thursday and the HBU match back to Monday before cancelling outright. Both Rice and HBU were heavily affected by Hurricane Harvey's landfall on Friday, Aug. 25.

* Baylor's opponents have added a progressive increase in challenges, but the Bears have maintained an overwhelming advantage on shots (83-20), goals (7-1), and corners (25-9).

* With a 2-0-1 record, the Bears are one of only three Big 12 teams that remain unbeaten in the 2017 season, joined by Oklahoma State and Texas.

* Friday's match with UTSA will serve as Senior Day and Preparing Champions for Life Day, celebrating the successes of both the graduating seniors and former student-athletes who have gone on to excel in every facet of life.

* Baylor ranks 26th in the country and first in the Big 12 in goals-against-average, with a 0.301 mark.

* Baylor's 27.67 shots per game is the second-highest mark in the country and tops in the conference.

* Baylor has had 10 or more wins in ten of its 21 seasons as a program and has done so in five of the last seven years under Paul Jobson, who enters his third season as head coach, 10th at Baylor overall.

* BU has had at least eight wins in eight straight seasons and has won at least one match at the Big 12 Championship nine times in 14 appearances, including five in a row.

* 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.

* Baylor was chosen fifth in the 2017 Big 12 preseason poll after finishing tied for third in 2016.

* BU returns 20 players from the 2016 roster and welcomes nine newcomers for 2017.

* 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.

* Baylor had 10 or more (13) Academic All-Big 12 selections in 2016 for the 10th straight season (10 first team, two second team).

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