Tech Travels To Waco For Friday Match At Baylor

Friday, October 6

Waco, Texas

7:00 p.m.

Texas Tech Athletics

Baylor

Tech Travels To Waco For Friday Match At Baylor

October 05, 2017 | Women's Soccer

Match Notes Live Stream ($)Live Stats Preview Presser

The Red Raiders will face the Bears in Waco on Friday, Oct. 6, at 7 p.m. at Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field

LUBBOCK, Texas – The Texas Tech soccer team heads to Waco for its only match of the weekend, taking on Baylor on Friday, Oct. 6, at 7 p.m. at Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field.

The Red Raiders (8-4-1, 1-2-1) look to return to the win column against the Bears (7-3-2, 1-2-1). Friday's match will be streamed live via a subscription on BaylorVision on BaylorBears.com, along with live stats on Baylor.Statbroadcast.com.

"They're all important," head coach Tom Stone said. "Everyone says that's coach talk, but there's five matches left and there's not one that's less or more important than the other. They're all crucial. So, you don't get a chance to say, 'Let's win two out of five or three out of five or do our best to tie some games.' We have to get after every one of these opponents down the stretch to give ourselves enough momentum to make some hay in the Big 12 Tournament and hopefully get selected in the postseason."

Tech will be searching for its first win in Waco since 2007, when the Red Raiders picked up a 2-1 victory over Baylor. However, since that first year Stone, Tech has only lost once in Waco, dropping the 2010 meeting, 1-0, and playing to a draw in the 2011, 2013 and 2015 encounters.

Both teams are in search of their second conference victory, as the two squads sit in fifth & seventh in the Big 12 standings, respectively. Three teams have earned four points so far this year, with Tech leading the trio thanks to goal differential.

The Red Raiders and Bears also share a unique streak heading into the weekend, as both squads have played in at least three-straight overtime contests, while Baylor has been in four consecutive. All four of the Bears' conference matches have seen overtime, as Baylor has a 1-2-1 record over that stretch. The OT periods have not been favorable to the Red Raiders in either of the last there dates, with Tech playing KU to a 1-1 draw, followed by a pair of extra time heart-breaking losses last weekend at No. 8 Texas and against TCU.

"They're evolving," Stone said about Baylor. "They've been a really tough team to watch and play against because of their direct, physical style. But, they've really evolved and now they're tougher to beat because they've added a layer to their team of passing and they have a really talented attacking mid and holding mid, along with dangerous forwards.

"This is a really nice Baylor team from the standpoint of they can get results in more than one way, which makes them dangerous because of that. You're never going to play Baylor and not have to be ready for a battle because that's what they bring to every game. We respect that and hopefully we'll be up for the challenge."

Last Friday, the Red Raiders dropped a hard-fought battle with the Longhorns in Austin, 3-2, in double overtime. After giving up a goal in the 19^th minute, a shot from sophomore forward Jade King at the 39' mark was kicked aside by the UT keeper, where freshman forward Ally Griffin controlled it and passed to the top of the box to junior midfielder Gwennie Puente, who quickly sent it to the left corner of the net for the first half equalizer.

Facing another deficit in the final minutes, a long ball from senior defender Rebekah O'Brien at midfield found King in stride down the right wing. Almost instantly after receiving the ball, King fired a shot past the keeper in the 88^th minute to tie the match and send it to overtime. Unfortunately, the Longhorns scored the golden goal two minutes into the second OT for the game-winner.

Tech faced a similar fate the following Sunday against TCU, dropping a 1-0 final after the Horned Frogs scored in the 92^nd minute for the OT winner. It was the first time this season the Red Raiders had dropped back-to-back matches, moving to 8-4-1 overall 1-2-1 in conference play. It was also the first home loss in 2017, moving Tech's record to 4-1-1 at the John Walker Soccer Complex this year.

Despite dropping its last two contests, the Red Raiders rank highly in the conference as a unit in several categories during the Big 12 play. Tech leads the conference in shots (72), points (18) and assists (6), while also ranking second in goals (6) and goals per game (1.5).

Tech's offensive numbers are near or have already surpassed last year's totals through just 13 matches this season, with five contests left on the regular season schedule. Two goals last week put the Red Raiders within last year's mark of 20 through 20 matches, while the two tallies & two assists against Texas pushed Tech to 12 assists and 50 points, passing last year's figures of nine and 49, respectively.

Just like last year, a freshman leads the way on offense, as Griffin has five goals and one assist for 11 points, while fellow freshman forward Kirsten Davis has four goals and eight points on the year. Sophomore midfielder Jordie Harr has also passed her assist total from 2016, with four this season, after serving up three last year.

Tech continues to split time in net between junior Carissa Christensen and freshman Marissa Zucchetto, with Christensen earning all 13 starts in 2017. The duo has combined for 38 saves, with Christensen at 23.

Through 12 matches, Baylor has recorded 16 goals, with only two coming in conference play. Aline de Lima & Jackie Crowther have each put up three goals and two assists to lead the team on offense. The Bears have allowed just six goals this season, three coming in Big 12 action, as keeper's Jennifer Wandt and Hannah Parrish have split time with nine and three starts, respectively.

After the trip to Waco, the Red Raiders return to home to face No. 25 Oklahoma State (10-1-2, 3-0-0) on Friday, Oct. 13, at the 6 p.m. at the John Walker Soccer Complex.