WACO, Texas – BYU women’s soccer (7-4, 2-3-1 Big 12) fell to the No. 14 Baylor Bears, 4-2 at Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field on Friday night.
Despite leading 2-1 in the 53rd minute, BYU was unable to hold the advantage, as Baylor scored three straight goals to win the matchup.
Mattyn Summers-Oviatt scored her second goal of the season in back-to-back games, giving the Cougars momentum late in the first half. Ellie Walbruch followed in the 53rd minute with a goal off assists from Mia Goettsche and Camryn Jorgensen, her sixth of the season.
The Bears had not given up two goals all season, but BYU became the first team to do so.
Baylor and BYU each had 15 shots, with the Bears putting eight on goal compared to seven for the Cougars. Baylor also led in corner kicks, 8-4, and converted one of them.
First Half
In the 13th minute, Baylor earned back-to-back corner kicks and had a shot on goal on its second attempt, but goalkeeper Paiton Collins tipped it over the top of the net.
Walbruch had a shot on goal midway through the 15th minute for the Cougars’ first chance, but it was off target.
Five minutes later, midfielder Mackenzee Vance fired a shot from 20 yards out on the right side, but Baylor goalkeeper Azul Alvarez made the save.
In the 35th minute, less than a minute after coming off the bench, Summers-Oviatt drove into the box, beat two defenders and sent the ball into the bottom center of the net to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead over the Bears, making them the first team to lead Baylor at home all season.
Less than five minutes after the Cougars’ goal, Baylor answered with a corner kick that slipped into the bottom center of the net, past Collins’ left leg to tie up the game.
Walbruch and Izzi Stratton tried to regain the lead immediately after, but Walbruch’s shot was blocked and Stratton’s went wide. Summers-Oviatt looked for another goal, but her 41st minute shot was stopped down the middle by Alvarez.
Baylor had another shot with under a minute left, but the Cougars blocked it and 30 seconds later, Collins saved a second attempt. The first half ended tied 1-1.
Second Half
Walbruch had the first shot of the half in the 49th minute, but her attempt was blocked. Baylor had a chance two minutes later, but their shot sailed high to the right and missed.
In the 53rd minute, Goettsche crossed to Jorgensen, who fed the ball to Walbruch in the box. Walbruch tapped it in, giving the Cougars the lead and making BYU the first team all season to score twice against the Bears.
Baylor responded almost immediately, driving the ball through traffic into the bottom right corner of the net 13 seconds later to tie the game.
In the 59th minute, a Baylor player scored a brace, sending a shot from the top of the box into the top right corner of the net to give the Bears their first lead of the game at 3-2.
Junior Walbruch tried to tie the game in the 60th minute, but her shot was blocked. Emma Hamberlin had another attempt three minutes later, but it went wide.
Sixty-eight minutes into the game, Walbruch recorded BYU’s fifth shot on goal, but Alvarez punched it away to maintain Baylor’s lead.
The Bears had two more chances within 80 seconds, the first coming in the 76th minute, with Collins saving one and the other going high to the left.
Baylor had another shot on goal in the 84th minute, but Collins deflected it behind the goal, resulting in a Baylor corner kick. From the corner, a Baylor player sent the ball into the middle of the box and fired it into the net to extend their lead to 4-2. Baylor’s four goals are the most BYU has allowed this season.
Less than 30 seconds later, Walbruch had another chance on goal, but Alvarez saved it. Neither team would get another on-goal attempt after that point and the game closed, 4-2 Baylor.
Up Next
BYU returns to South Field for a stretch of three games. The matchup against Arizona will be on Thursday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. MST. Watch broadcast live on ESPN+.