No. 17 Tech, Baylor set for Quarterfinal clash

KANSAS CITY – No. 17 Texas Tech Soccer opens the 2024 Sprouts Farmers Market Big 12 Championship Saturday afternoon with a Quarterfinals date with Baylor at CPKC Stadium.

Originally set for a 5:30 p.m. first touch, the match has been moved up to 2:30 p.m. due to projected inclement weather in the Kansas City area. The Quarterfinals begin Saturday morning at 9 a.m. when fifth-seeded Oklahoma State and fourth-seeded BYU face off for a spot in the semis. The winner of OSU/BYU will meet the winner of top-seeeded TCU and ninth-seeded Colorado. The Horned Frogs and Buffs are set for an 11:45 a.m. first touch.

With a victory on Saturday afternoon, the Red Raiders can advance to Wednesday's Semifinals where the winner of West Virginia and Kansas would await. WVU and KU are set to close out the day of action at 5:15 p.m.

If Tech is able to advance, it would mark the fifth time in six seasons that the Red Raiders would advance to the Semifinals at the Big 12 Championships.

The Red Raiders earned the first round bye at the championships after earning the No. 2 overall seed while 10th-seeded Baylor defeated seventh-seeded Arizona, 2-1 on Wednesday afternoon.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
MATCHUP: No. 17 Texas Tech (13-3-2, 8-1-2 Big 12) vs. Baylor (
ROUND: Big 12 Quarterfinals
DATE: Saturday, November 2
TIME: 2:30 p.m.
LOCATION: CPKC Stadium (Kansas City, Mo.)

LAST TIME OUT:
Despite a late first half goal from Taylor Zdrojewski, No. 14 Texas Tech Soccer fell to BYU, 2-1 at a packed John Walker Soccer Complex Friday.

Seeking its second-straight Big 12 title, Texas Tech (13-3-2, 8-1-2 Big 12) enjoyed a 1-0 lead at the break, but a pair of set piece goals from BYUs (8-5-5, 6-2-3 Big 12) Mackenzee Vance and Avery Frischknecht gave the Cougars the dramatic come-from-behind win.

The loss, which was Tech's first in Big 12 play since a Sept. 25, 2022 setback to UT, snapped a 27-match (22-0-5) Big 12 unbeaten streak and a 20-match (19-0-1) home regular season unbeaten streak.

Needing just a win to clinch a share of Big 12 regular season title, the Red Raiders instead will settle for a second-place finish in the standings, marking the third consecutive top-two regular season finish for the Red Raiders.

After a flying start that included a shot on goal just 40 seconds in, as well as multiple corner kicks of the first 90 seconds of play, the Red Raiders dominated the first 10 minutes of action.

Despite not scoring, the Red Raiders had arguably their strongest chance to score midway through the 10 minute when a BYU defender cleared a shot from Zdrojewski off the line.

Despite multiple strong scoring opportunities from both sides, neither team was able to find the back of the net until 10 seconds into the 41st minute when a Macy Blackburn free kick service found Zdrojewski in the middle of the BYU box. With a seam in the box, Zdrojewski redirected a header into the open goal for her eighth strike of the season.

Armed with the lead and 45 minutes from claiming a share of the Big 12 title, the Red Raiders allowed BYU to equalize midway through the 53rd minute when Vance buried a free kick from 30-yards out.

Just 90 seconds later, the Red Raiders nearly pulled back in front when a perfect pass from Alana Harry and back-heel flick from Zdrojewski found a streaking Peyton Parsons. Wide open in the box, Parson took a hit without a touch and sent a low shot that beat BYU keeper Lynette Hernaez before clanging off the post.

The game remained deadlocked at one, until the closing moments of the 89th minute when Zdrojewski was hip checked by BYUs Avery Frischknecht in the box. Despite the contact, no PK was awarded.

With the time running out, BYU raced down the field in search of the go-ahead goal. As she raced toward goal, Allie Fryer was taken out by a Red Raider defender and free kick was awarded with less than one minute to play.

On the ensuing free kick, Lucy Kesler delivered a perfect ball that Frischknecht was able to head past Nguyen to seal the win for the Cougars.

QUICK KICKS:
• Looking to bounce back after a tough 2-1 loss last Friday to BYU, the Red Raiders turn their attention to 2024 Big 12 Championships Saturday afternoon against Baylor.

• Originally scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. start, Saturday's match against Baylor has been pushed up to a 2:30 p.m. start due to projected inclement weather in the Kansas City area.

• If Tech is able to either defeat or advance past Baylor on Saturday afternoon it would mark the fifth time in six seasons that Tech would have advanced at the Big 12 Championship.

• The loss to BYU, snapped Tech's 29-match Big 12 unbeaten streak (24-0-5) and 20-match (19-0-1) home regular season unbeaten streak. Both the overall Big 12 unbeaten streak and the home dated back to a Sept. 25, 2022 set back to Texas.

• Following the conclusion of the regular season, the Red Raiders were well represented in the final Big 12 awards as defender Macy Blackburn earned Big 12 Defender of the Year while eight different Red Raiders earned All-Conference honors. The group included four First Team All-Big 12 selections and three Second Team All-Big 12 selections.

• The Red Raiders four First Team selections included GK Faith Nguyen, D Macy Blackburn, MF Peyton Parsons and F Ashleigh Williams. Both Wiliams and Blackburn earned First Team All-Big 12 honors for the second-straight season, while Nguyen and Parsons earned their first all-time honors. Defender Cassie Taylor, Midfielder Jillian Martinez and Forward Taylor Zdrojewski were Tech's three second team all-conference honorees. Freshman Petyon Dyess was Tech's eighth and final honoree, as the freshman earned All-Big 12 Freshman honors.

• Last Friday's loss to BYU featured three anomalies for this year's squad, as it marked the first time this season that Tech lost when leading at the half, the first time this season when holding an opponent scoreless at the half.

• Known for owning the second half, Tech was outscored in the second half for the first time this season in 18 matches. The Red Raiders were previously 13-0-1 when scoring first and were 9-0-0 when leading at the half. Despite allowing two goals in the second half, Tech is still outscoring opponents 22-4 in the second period this season.

UP NEXT:
The Red Raiders with a victory on Saturday afternoon will advance to the Semifinals of the 2024 Big 12 Championships where the winner of WVU and KU would await. First touch for Wedensday's Semifinals is set for 7 p.m.

No. 17 Tech, Baylor set for Quarterfinal clash

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Players Mentioned

Macy Blackburn

Alana Harry

Jillian Martinez

Faith Nguyen

Peyton Parsons

Cassie Taylor

Ashleigh Williams

Taylor Zdrojewski