Hosting McCallie on Friday night, the Baylor soccer team knew that the first 15 minutes of the match would be key to a shot at upsetting its undefeated and top-ranked rival.
The Red Raiders lasted 11 before the Blue Tornado struck.
McCallie opened the Division II-AA East/Middle Region match with high pressure, which paid off when Will McGregor finished a cross from David Bowman into the far post for the early lead.
The Blue Tornado added a second-half goal by Wesley Brown to earn the 2-0 victory that extends its winning streak to 12 matches.
“They always come out 100 miles an hour at the start of each half,” Baylor coach Curtis Blair said. “We knew if we could withstand that, they would start to drop off a little bit. We figured if we could just hold on for the first 15 minutes we would be fine, but we didn’t quite make it.”
McCallie’s pressure resulted in several corners in the opening minutes, and McGregor’s finish gave his team an early lead that proved to be huge after the Red Raiders settled in and had more of the possession during the final 15 to 20 minutes of the opening half.
“It was a huge goal for Will,” first-year McCallie coach Chris Cushenbery said. “I think it was his first of the season. He’s a young sophomore, but he goes about his business like a good college player. He’s very focused, and goes through every drill at 100 percent. So it wasn’t surprising that he would step up and play well, but in the first half I really thought he was the best player on the field. He really earned that goal.”
Baylor was unable to finish any chances during its run late in the first half, and McCallie opened the second period with several dangerous opportunities, including one off the frame and another just over. The Red Raiders’ only real threat of the second half came with 10:26 left to play, but about a minute later, Brown put McCallie up 2-0 when he made a run to score a header on a ball from Drew Viscomi.
“At the beginning of the year, we were possessing very well, but the past two weeks we’ve kind of looked nervous,” Cushenbery said. “Tonight we just said we want to win the first five minutes of the second half. Our movement off the ball was very good, and when we play like that, we’re real hard to beat. We came out and put the pressure on them, and after that first five minutes I think we really believed we were going to win. Then it was just a matter of time before the second goal.”
Cushenbery also praised his team’s defensive effort as the Blue Tornado earned its third consecutive region shutout and 12th victory in a row since opening the season with a tie against Georgia power Southeast Whitfield.
“It’s been a good run,” he said. “I’ve never coached or been on a team that’s had so much success, but doesn’t act like it. They really don’t ever walk into a game feeling like they’re entitled to win. They want to go do the work and earn it. They come to practice every day with that same mentality.”
McCallie will have to earn at least one more region victory in order to clinch the No. 1 seed from the East/Middle Region, but will have the opportunity to do so next week with matches against Ensworth and Pope John Paul II.
Baylor, at 9-3-2 overall and 3-1-1 in the region, still has a shot at earning the No. 2 seeding in a match against Father Ryan next Friday that should help finalize the postseason standings.
“Tonight was just one of those rivalry games that wasn’t very pretty,” Blair said. “But I told the guys at the end that this does nothing to change the outcome of what we want to accomplish.”
(E-mail Jaime Barrett at jaimenbarrett@gmail.com)