SOC Defeats Florida, 2-1

Thursday, August 25

Austin, TX

4 PM

Baylor

1-1-1, 0-0-0

Florida

1-2-0, 0-0-0

Florida

Baylor

SOC Defeats Florida, 2-1

8/25/2022 8:01:00 PM | Soccer

Box Score Box Score

Lenard records her first win at Baylor

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            AUSTIN, Texas – Michelle Lenard was disappointed with the way her Baylor soccer team responded after giving up the first goal in Sunday's 2-0 loss to Wisconsin.
            This time, when the Florida Gators (1-2-0) netted a tying goal in the 81^st minute, the Bears (1-1-1) answered the right way.
            Taking a centering pass from sophomore Haven Terry, junior midfielder Gabby Mueller rocketed a shot from 15 yards out that found the upper right corner of the net with just under two minutes left for a 2-1 victory Thursday afternoon at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
            "To fight back after giving up the equalizer, with not much time left on the clock, I'm really proud," said Lenard, who picked up her first Baylor victory after winning 200 games and 13 conference championships in 14 seasons at Dallas Baptist.
            "That shows a mentality shift from our last game. . . . I'm happy for the team. I thought we deserved to win. It would have been really disappointing for that game to go the other way. I thought we played well, from the beginning."
            Even in a scoreless first half, Baylor dominated play with a 7-1 edge in shots, including three on goal.
            Florida made a tactical shift in the second half, switching to a 4-4-2 format, and put a lot of pressure on Baylor's defense and goalkeeper Lauren Traywick.
            "Overall, I thought (Traywick) managed the game pretty well," Lenard said. "They didn't have a lot of great chances, but she made the saves she needed to make early on. She played out with her feet well and was able to control the momentum shifts that occurred throughout the game."
            The Bears got on the board in the 12^th minute of the second half, when DBU transfer Ashley Merrill headed in a goal from the middle of the box off a perfectly placed corner kick by Maddie Algya. It was Merrill's first goal at Baylor and 33^rd of her career.
            "The first one's a corner kick, which we've been working hard on, and we executed it finally," Lenard said. "It was a good service (by Algya). Ashley's good at that, and timed it well and was on the end of it."
            Florida's constant pressure finally broke Baylor's pipes, with less than 9 ½ minutes remaining, when Tessa Barton's shot kicked off the right post. The ricochet went all the way to the backside, where Alivia Gonzalez rifled a shot over Traywick and into the right side of the net.
            "I'll have to go back and look at film, because I thought (Traywick) had it covered and it got right by her fingertips and hit the post," Lenard said of Barton's first touch. "And how (Gonzalez) scored from that angle, I don't know. Going back to look at the video will be helpful to discern that."
            The Gators got off three more shots in the last eight minutes, but Mueller got the go-ahead goal by Mueller at the 88:02 mark.
            "I'm really happy for Gabby to finish that one," Lenard said. "We know she can finish. We've been challenging her to get herself in the box more, and she did, and had a fantastic finish."
            Traywick recorded two second-half saves and picked up her first win as well.
            Finishing out the weekend in Austin, Baylor will face top-ranked North Carolina (3-0-0) at 12 p.m. Sunday. The Tar Heels knocked off the Texas Longhorns, 2-0, in Thursday's nightcap and lead the series with Baylor, 2-0-1.
            "We're attacking better. In this game, we created chances, but we did get exploited in counter-attack moments," Lenard said. "UNC will be clinical if we're not organized to counter-press. And then, when we are in a low block, we've got to be more organized, because we're getting pulled out of our shape far too often when we're close to our own goal."

THE RUNDOWN
AUSTIN, Texas – Baylor soccer's last-minute goal pushed the Bears past Florida, 2-1, Thursday afternoon at Mike A. Myers Stadium to record head coach Michelle Lenard's first win at BU.

The Bears put up a fight in the first half, out shooting the Gators, 7-1, but weren't able to capitalize in the first 45 minutes.

Coming out hot in the second half, Maddie Algya sent a shot in in the 48^th minute but the ball sailed just high of the net. Baylor struck first as Ashley Merrill headed in ball off of a set piece in the 57^th minute, from a corner kick by Algya.

Baylor kept the Gators at bay until the 81^st minute, when they scored to knot the game at one apiece.

Not going down without a fight, in the 89^th minute, Gabby Mueller found the top right of the net on an assist from Haven Terry to take the lead and secure the win.

The Baylor defense only allowed three shots on goal, with starting goalkeeper Lauren Traywick recording two saves.

Nine Bears recorded shots during the game, with a season-high four off the boot of Blythe Obar.

HIGHLIGHTS

Michelle Lenard picked up her first win at Baylor
Blythe Obar recorded a career-high four shots
Gabby Mueller recorded her third-career goal
Ashley Merrill recorded her first goal for the green & gold, 33^rd of her career
Haven Terry and Maddie Algya each recorded an assist

TOP QUOTES
Michelle Lenard on the first win of the season …
"It feels good, I'm happy for the team. I thought we deserved to win. It would have been really disappointing for that game to go the other way. I thought we played well, from the beginning. We controlled the first half. Didn't create enough good chances, but controlled it. Second half, we started to create better chances, finally got a goal. Then it got a little sticky as they adjusted their system a little bit. We've got to learn to make adjustments on the fly better. I think that will come with experience. We have a lot of young players out there. And then, to fight back after giving up the goal, the equalizer, with not much time left on the clock, I'm really proud. That shows a mentality shift from our last game. I'm really happy for Gabby to finish that one, we know she can finish. We've been challenging her to get herself in the box more, and she did, and a fantastic finish."

- BaylorBears.com -