Baylor edges Kansas, 1-0, on late goal
LAWRENCE, Kan. – A goal by Baylor’s Aline De Lima with just 12 minutes remaining in regulation proved to be the difference as the Bears struck late to top Kansas, 1-0, Sunday afternoon at Rock Chalk Park.
The loss dropped Kansas to 7-7-2 on the season and to 2-3-1 in Big 12 play. Baylor picked up its 10th win of the season, moving to 10-3-2 in 2017 with a 4-2-1 record in the league.
“Baylor did a good job of coming out, pressing us and we didn’t handle that pressure very well, I didn’t think,” said head coach Mark Francis. “We regrouped at halftime and talked about a couple of things. The second half, I thought we played very well. We had 11 shots, but we didn’t have any on target. Those details, for us, are causing us to lose games. As the coach, I can’t fault our kids’ effort, I can’t fault their adjustments to the things we talked about I think in the second half, we were clearly much better. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always mean you win the game.”
With both squads unable to put a shot on target for the majority of the match, it was the visitors that who were the first to find the frame on a windy Sunday afternoon in Lawrence. In the 78th minute and Baylor on the attack, a ball was crossed in and headed toward the center of the KU box. De Lima ran on (needed?) to the pass and shot in her fourth goal of the season and giving her team a lead it would not relinquish.
On the other end of the field it was a frustrating afternoon for the Kansas attack, which was able to amass 11 shots, however none of them ended on the Baylor frame. Lois Heuchan saw two of Kansas’ best looks in the 69th and 70th minutes. The senior was played a short pass near the Baylor penalty spot, where she was able to turn and got a shot off, however her attempt rolled just wide of the left post.
Less than 90 seconds later, she got her head on the end of a cross deep in the heart of the Baylor penalty area, but once again her try flew just wide of the left post.
Baylor held off the Jayhawks over the final 10 minutes of the match despite several frantic KU attempts to find the equalizer. The final buzzer sounded with Baylor claiming the victory and the lead in the shot count at 15-11 as well as a 2-0 edge in shots on target. The match marked just the third time in program history the Jayhawks failed to put a single shot on goal.
Heuchan led the squad with her three shots, while junior Grace Hagan added a pair. Senior Maddie Dobyns made her 56th career start in goal for the Jayhawks, collecting one save.
UP NEXT
The Jayhawks will hit the road for their final away stretch of the regular season when Kansas faces the Oklahoma Sooners on Friday, Oct. 20. KU and OU are slated to kickoff at 7p.m., from Norman. Two days later KU will hit the pitch in Stillwater for a Sunday afternoon match against the Oklahoma State Cowgirls. The contest is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
