SOC Rallies in Draw with No. 2 USC in Double Overtime

Friday, September 20

Waco, TX

6 p.m.

Baylor

3-2-3, 0-0-0

USC

7-0-1, 0-0-0

Southern California

Baylor

Photo by: Baylor Photography

SOC Rallies in Draw with No. 2 USC in Double Overtime

9/20/2019 9:54:00 PM | Soccer

Box Score BOX SCORE

Jennifer Wandt recorded a season-high eight saves

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Typically, ties leave a bad taste in your mouth.
            Not this time.
            Coming back from a 2-0 deficit and a first half dominated by second-ranked USC, Baylor soccer rallied with a pair of second-half goals to tie it up and then staved off a pair of one-on-one threats in the second overtime in battling to a 2-2 draw before a season-high crowd of 980 Friday night at Betty Lou Mays Field.
            "This game helped us realize that we're better than we think we are," said sophomore forward Elena Reyna. "Playing against them, we realized we can play with the top dogs. We just need to come out of our shell a little bit, and this game helped us realize that."
             The Bears (3-2-3) did it without two of their top players and senior captains. Camryn Wendlandt is out with a foot injury, while Raegan Padgett was suspended for a game after getting a red card in last Sunday's 1-1 tie with Abilene Christian.
            "That's just how good our team chemistry is and how our bond is so strong that we're able to lift each other up," said sophomore midfielder Guiliana Cunningham, who scored the equalizing goal in the 61^stminute on a cross from Danielle Hayden. "With everyone on the sidelines just encouraging everyone, it was not just the people on the field, it was the people off the field as well."
            USC (7-0-1), which had outscored its opponents 19-5 coming into Friday's game, dominated the first half. The Trojans kept possession of the ball for 62 percent of the time and outshot the Bears, 12-2.
            They finally broke through in the 39^thminute when Jaelyn Eisenhart scored on a header from the back side off an assist from Ashley Soto. Three minutes later, Penelope Hocking beat goalkeeper Jennifer Wandt in a one-on-one situation off a feed from Olufosade Adamolekun to go up 2-0 at the half.
            "I really felt like we had some opportunities in the first half and made some mistakes, and a great team is going to capitalize on mistakes," Baylor coach Paul Jobson said. "But, we weren't out of the game. I felt we could adjust some things and put some pressure on them and go for it. They believed in it and went after it . . . and we dang near won the thing at the end of the second half."
            Completely flipping the script, Baylor attacked more in the second half and had an 11-6 edge in shots, tying it up on goals by Reyna and Cunningham.
            "We realized that we needed to change our attack if we want to score," Reyna said, "because we weren't being very fruitful in getting the ball."
            Just over 10 minutes into the second half, Reyna netted her third career goal and first of the season when she ripped a shot by USC goalkeeper Anna Smith.
            "I posted up on one of the girls, and I called to my center, Kayley (Ables)," Reyna said. "Kayley passed me the ball, and the girl actually got in front of the ball and poked it out behind her and to the side. I shoved by her and placed it in the corner."
            Cunningham got the tying goal 4 ½ minutes later when Hayden sent her a cross in front of the goal and she booted it into the left corner of the goal. That was Cunningham's first goal of the season after netting six last year, including one versus Vanderbilt in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
            "(Hayden) played it beautifully across, (with) three of us in there. We knew that one of us had to take it, and I just didn't think about it. I just had to get the ball into the net," Cunningham said. "I put it in, (but) it was a team effort. We all had to work from the back and went up and finished it into the goal."
            In the final seconds of regulation, Cunningham and Reyna both had shots to win it, but Cunningham hit the post and Reyna's rebound shot sailed high.
            "Don't even bring that up," Cunningham said. "I thought (my shot) was going in, then it hit the post. And then Elena got the rebound, and she hit it over. This was a really fun game to play. Regardless of the tie, that was one of the most fun games I've played in a long time."
            USC turned back to its aggressive ways in the two overtime periods, outshooting the Bears 7-3 and getting a pair of one-on-one chances in the second OT. Wandt made a diving stop of a Tara McKeown shot and then made a kick save of a point-blank shot by Hocking.
            "(Assistant coach Matt Smith) always tells me to make myself big," said Wandt, who had a season-high eight saves. "So, I just thought of that as they were coming down. I just wanted to make saves for my team, because this was really one of our first team efforts of the season for a 90-minute game. It was just awesome to see everyone out there busting their butt, everyone on the sidelines cheering as loud as they can. It was truly easy to make plays like that when there are people around you like that."
            On a four-game winless streak since beating Wyoming 2-0 on Sept. 6, the Bears will try to get back in the win column when they host Gonzaga (7-2-0) at 1 p.m. Sunday to wrap up their non-conference schedule. The Zags have won four in a row and are coming off a 4-0 shutout of Idaho State Friday night in Spokane, Wash.
            "I'm just really proud of the heart and fight tonight," Jobson said. "We showed we're still a team that can compete with the best of the best."


THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas – In a thrilling contest played before a season-high 980 fans, Baylor recorded a hard-fought 2-2 draw in double overtime with No. 2 USC Friday night at Betty Lou Mays Field.

After a scoreless match through the first 35 minutes, USC got on the board in the 39^th minute with a goal by Jaelyn Eisenhart. Three minutes later, the Trojans went up 2-0 as Penelope Hocking finished off a breakaway started by Olufolasade Adamolekun.

At the half, USC held a 12-2 advantage in shots. But Baylor flipped the script in that category in the second half.

Fifteen minutes into the second half, Elena Reyna put the Bears on the board with her first goal of the season. The sophomore forward kicked the ball past the diving USC goalkeeper into the lower right corner of the net.

It didn't take long for Giuliana Cunningham to join the party. In the 61^st minute, Danielle Hayden sent a cross to the front of the goal that Cunningham booted perfectly into the left side of the goal for the equalizer.

Baylor finished the second half outshooting the Trojans, 11-6. Overall, USC recorded a 24-16 advantage in shots.

The match nearly ended in the final minute of regulation as Reyna and Cunningham each got great looks at the goal. But a shot off the crossbar and another too high sent the match into overtime.

The Trojans recorded six shots total in both overtime periods, but BU goalkeeper Jennifer Wandt had an answer for every one of them. Wandt racked up eight saves on the night.

HIGHLIGHTS

Elena Reyna and Giuliana Cunningham each netted their first goals of the season. For Reyna, it was her first goal since Oct. 28, 2018 against Iowa State. For Cunningham, it was her first goal since Nov. 16, 2018 against Vanderbilt.
Taylor Moon made her first start of the season.
Danielle Hayden recorded her first assist at Baylor first since her freshman season at Kentucky.
After USC dominated the possession in the first half (62 percent to BU's 38 percent), it evened out as the match progressed. The Trojans finished with a slim edge of 52 percent to 48 percent.

STAT OF THE GAME
8 – Number of saves by Jennifer Wandt. That marks a season high for the junior goalkeeper. It's also one shy of tying her career best (nine) that she set in the win at West Virginia on Oct. 5, 2018.

TOP QUOTE
Paul Jobson on the match…
"The message at halftime was I didn't believe it was a 2-0 game. I really felt like we had some opportunities in the first half and made some mistakes, and a great team is going to capitalize on mistakes. But we weren't out of the game. I felt we could adjust some things and put some pressure on them and go for it. They believed in it and went after it, and we got results out of it. We almost won the thing at the end of the second half."

Sophomore Elena Reyna on the match…
"This game helped us realize that we're better than we think we are. Playing against them, we realized we can play with the top dogs. We just need to come out of our shell a little bit, and this game helped us realize that."

Junior Jennifer Wandt on her game…
"Matt (Smith) always tells me to make myself big, so I just thought of that as they were coming down. I just wanted to make saves for my team because this was really one of our first team efforts of the season for a 90-minute game. It was just awesome to see everyone out there busting their butt, and everyone on the sidelines cheering as loud as they can. It was truly easy to make plays like that when there are people around you."

UP NEXT
Baylor hosts Gonzaga at 1 p.m. Sunday to wrap up non-conference play. Sunday's match will be Pups at the Pitch with a Corgi race at halftime.