Texas Tech Hands Baylor First Loss of Season in Big 12 Soccer Opener
Texas Tech opened Big 12 play with a statement, grinding out a 1–0 road win Thursday night to hand Baylor its first loss of the season. The Bears entered unbeaten, boasting the nation’s No. 14 RPI and a defense that had surrendered just two goals all year – none at home.
“Big 12 games are not easy,” said Texas Tech head coach Tom Stone following the game. “No one’s gonna give you one. There’s no one in this league that’s gonna give you a game, especially on the road. And they were undefeated. So it’s their first loss and we were certainly happy to give it to them, but it wasn’t without a fight.”
Texas Tech Stat Leaders
Peyton Parsons – 4 shots, 3 shots on goal, 1 goal, 69 min
Raleigh Greason – 2 shots, 1 shot on goal, 36 min
Sam Courtwright – 3 shots, 80 minutes
Entire Backline (Nguyen, Blackburn, McCartney, Hays, Bahr) – shutout and all five played the full 90 minutes on a hot, muggy night. Add in four saves (including a highlight reel one) for Nguyen in goal.
How It Happened
Baylor looked every bit the part early, dictating the first 25 minutes and breaking the backline for a few dangerous chances. Coach Stone said his team didn’t bring the energy level out of the gate that is required in Big 12 play, especially a conference opener on the road against an undefeated opponent.
“I think the first thing is how good Baylor is and how well they played for the first 25 minutes. They really put us under the gun,” Stone said. “They were on the front foot and dictating a lot of what the game had to offer. Although we got back into it before the end of the half, I think the halftime itself was a good turning point for us. I would just say it was spirited would be the understatement of the year. There just wasn’t enough of us, player to player. We weren’t giving enough to the game. And that’s unacceptable in any type of NCAA sport and certainly in Big 12 openers. I think they knew it and so they came out and played a lot more aggressive.”
That message indeed hit home. The Red Raiders came out with renewed energy, pressing higher up the field, breaking up Baylor’s possession, and creating a barrage of chances. Tech outshot Baylor 13-5 in the second half. Peyton Parsons was the first to nearly break through but a great save from Baylor’s Azul Alvarez kept the game at 0-0.
“This team does an amazing job making changes at halftime and absolutely committing to them,” said senior goal keeper Faith Nguyen. “I think the amount of energy that we came in the second half was ridiculous. And I don’t think they stood a chance the moment we left the locker room.”
They kept the peddle down. Sam Courtwright nearly got one to go off the crossbar after a great feed in from Kylie Bahr, but alas still no dice. The energy was very much on Tech’s side though, they had made sure of that with the attitude shift to start the half. They kept knocking and an aggressive run into the box from Courtwright, off a great Taylor Zdrojewski feed, drew a foul.
It’s the first year Video Assistant Referee (VAR) is available in Big 12 soccer and right away in game one of the conference season it made an impact. The foul was initially ruled a few inches outside the box for a free kick but upon review it was clear Courtwright had the ball in the box when she was taken down. Tech was awarded a penalty kick and for the second game in a row Parsons stepped to the spot with a chance for the game-winner. She nailed it, as she does.
“I saw Sam get taken down and knew it would be a PK,” explained Parsons. “So I went and got water [during the review] and just prepared my mind. The keeper guessed where I went last week so it was about putting it away on the other side.”
As any good team does however, Baylor wasn’t finished. They pushed numbers forward and off an insane flick to herself, volley and strike Theresa McCullough nearly had not just the equalizer for Baylor but a goal of the year candidate. Unfortunately for her Faith Nguyen exists, and she saw the entire thing playing out in front of her. She was ready and turned that potential goal of the year candidate into a save of the year submission of her own.
“I just knew I had to come up big in that moment to get the win,” Nguyen said.
Texas Tech closed it out from there to not only earn three critical points, but also jump twenty spots in the RPI with the win. It’s early but every conference win matters, especially with the depth of talent in the Big 12 this season.
“Big 12 games are never easy and points are hard to come by,” said coach Stone. “So we’re really thrilled to take three from Waco tonight.”
Next Up: Home Versus Houston Thursday 9/25, 7 PM
Texas Tech returns home to take on another in-state foe, the Houston Cougars on Thursday September 25. The Cougars are playing confident under a new head coach and have yet to lose a game this season sitting at 6-0-2 on the year. They won their conference opener 3-1 over Cincinnati.
First touch 7 pm at the John Walker Soccer Complex in Lubbock. BE THERE! Game will be streamed on ESPN+.
Join the conversation with other Red Raiders on the Inside The Double T forum.
Subscribe today to get the most in-depth Texas Tech sports and recruiting coverage.
Follow us on X: @RedRaiderSports
Like and follow us on Instagram @rrs_rivals & like us on Facebook.
