SOC Narrowly Falls Against No. 15 Oklahoma State, 1-0

Thursday, September 12

Waco, Texas

7PM

Baylor

5-3-0, 0-1-0

Oklahoma State

7-0-1, 1-0-0

Oklahoma St.

Baylor

SOC Narrowly Falls Against No. 15 Oklahoma State, 1-0

9/12/2024 10:17:00 PM | Soccer

Box Score Box Score

Bears shut out to open conference play

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

WACO, Texas – Michelle Lenard knows that even on your best day, you can still lose.

This wasn't Baylor soccer's best day, giving up a set-piece goal on a first-half corner kick and getting off just one shot on goal in a 1-0 loss to 15^th-ranked Oklahoma State Thursday night in the Big 12 opener at Betty Lou Mays Field.

"We've gotten to the point now where we've learned to compete, we've learned to win games and now we have to handle the pressure of being expected to win," said Lenard, whose team fell to 5-3-0 overall and 0-1 in conference with its second-straight shutout loss.

"I don't know if we were expected to win against them, but we certainly expect a lot more out of ourselves than that and put ourselves in a better situation. So, it's painful. The girls are feeling, we're all feeling it. We've got to see how we respond going into the weekend and get ready for next week and put a better performance on the field."

Oklahoma State (7-0-1, 1-0-0) remained one of just two schools in Division I soccer that hasn't allowed a goal this season, outshooting the Bears, 13-9.

The Cowgirls, who dominated possession, scored the only goal in the 19^th minute when Xcaret Pineda found the back of the net off a corner kick by Laudan Wilson.

"It was a player that typically doesn't miss the ball in that situation," Lenard said of the defensive lapse. "(She) misjudged it, and then (Pineda) had way too much time on the ball. What I'd like to think is that we could recover from a mistake like that. We don't want to give up a goal there, but we've been shut out two games ina. Row, so we really can't complain to the back line. We've got to score some goals."

The Bears certainly had their chances, with Tyler Isgrig and Alysiah Lockette getting off back-to-back shots in the first nine minutes. But they had just two shots in the second half and none on frame.

"Some of our opportunities were dangerous," said Isgrig, who netted back-to-back winners in victories over Texas A&M and SMU. "I had one in the first half that I thought I could have gotten. There were some at the end, a few cross. . . . I think there were a lot of chances that could have kept us in the game or put us back in the game."

Lenard said the Bears "didn't create enough chances in the second half, but it's because we kind of switched off. And that can't happen if we expect to be competitive."

Baylor got a scare just over a minute into the second half, when sophomore goalkeeper Azul Alvarez got hit in the head and had to come out of the game. Ashlee Zirkel had a clean sheet over the last 43 minutes, seeing five shots but none on goal.

"I'm not sure yet," Lenard said of Alvarez's status for Sunday's 7 p.m. game against Texas State (3-3-1). "There was just a collision, she got hit in the head. I'm hopeful that were playing it pretty conservative there, and we get her back for Sunday. Ashlee did well, though. I mean, we didn't give up a lot of shots on frame, either. We just didn't do enough."

Isgrig and Lockette combined for five of Baylor's nine shots, while grad transfer midfielder Kai Hayes played 24 minutes in her first game action in three weeks.

"It felt good," Hayes said. "Adrenaline was definitely going. It's a beautiful field, and these girls are so fun to play with. It's definitely great to be out here back in conference and just get after it. Hopefully, next time we get the win."

After finishing out the non-conference slate against the Bobcats, Baylor will get back into conference play with matchups against Arizona (5-2-1, 0-1-0) on Thursday and Houston (3-3-1, 0-1-0) next Sunday.

"Coach Lenard said, 'No tears, no motivation,''' Hayes said. "Like, we need to go out there with fury, straight faces, stone-cold and just run through anyone that comes in our way."

THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas – Baylor soccer narrowly fell against No. 15 Oklahoma State, 1-0, Thursday night at Betty Lou Mays Field.

After Baylor got off the first two shots of the match courtesy of Tyler Isgrig and Alysiah Lockette, OSU followed up with four shots of their own before taking the lead in the 19^th minute. Oklahoma State's Xcaret Pineda found the back of the net on a set piece set up with a corner kick from Laudan Wilson that put the Cowgirls up early.

Lockette was the only Bear to force a save from the OSU goalkeeper all match, putting a shot on frame in the 13^thminute.

Down by a goal, Adriana Merriam narrowly missed the equalizer when her shot in the 38^th minute sailed just over the bar. BU goalkeeper Azul Alvarez was also tested in the final minutes of the first 45 and was forced to make a save in the 44^th minute that held the Cowgirls to just one goal.

Both teams struggled to get shots off to start the second half, with Isgrig taking the first shot of the second 45 in the 71^stminute, but the shot sailed just high.

Oklahoma State added five shots in the last 10 minutes of play, but Baylor kept the Cowgirls from scoring again by not allowing a shot on frame.

Hannah Augustyn got the Bears' last look of the match in the 85^th minute but wasn't able to put the shot on goal and the Bears fell 1-0.

HIGHLIGHTS

Four Bears played the full 90 minutes
Six different Bears got shots off
Tyler Isgrig led the way with three shots
Alysiah Lockette had a career-high two shots and put up the bears' only shot on frame
Callie Conrad played a season-high 40 minutes
Azul Alvarez played 47 minutes in goal, only forced to make one save
Ashlee Zirkel appeared in her second game this season in goal