Baylor Soccer Prepares for Season Opener

[Gilmore, Katy]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – Aug. 14, 2024

Baylor Soccer Prepares for Season Opener
Bears to face Mississippi State on the road, return home to host St. Bonaventure
For more information contact: Katy Gilmore; 254-252-2182, katy_gilmore at baylor.edu<mailto:katy_gilmore at baylor.edu>



BAYLOR (0-0) at No. 18 MISSISSIPPI STATE (0-0)

Aug. 15, 2024 • 6:30 p.m. CT • Watch: SEC Network + • Starkville, Miss. • MSU Soccer Field



BAYLOR (0-0) vs ST BONAVENTURE (0-0)

Aug. 18, 2024 • 7 p.m. CT • Watch: ESPN+ • Waco, Texas • Batty Lou Mays Field



Story lines

  *   Baylor opens its 2024 season on the road with a match against Mississippi State on Thursday before returning home to face St. Bonaventure in its home opener on Sunday. The Bears are starting their season on the road for only the 10th time in program history and are 4-4-1 in those contests.
  *   The 2024 season marks the 28th season of the Baylor Soccer program. During that time, BU has won four Big 12 titles, advanced to two Elite Eights and had four All-Americans to go with countless All-Big 12 and Academic All-Big 12 honorees.
  *   This season also marks the third year of the Michelle Lenard coaching era, as she was selected as the Bears sixth head coach in program history in December of 2021.
  *   With the new Big 12 teams joining the conference this season, the Bears will only play 11 of the 15 other opponents this season. The Bears will face all four of the new schools, Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah. BU will not face Cincinnati, UCF, Kansas or Kansas State in regular season play.
  *   The Bears are coming off a 2023 campaign that featured a 9-7-3 record and finished eighth in the conference.
  *   Baylor has a 33 person roster this season and features 25 returners and eight newcomers.
  *   BU has nine starters returning, Hallie Augustyn, Hannah Augustyn, Ava Colberg, Skye Leach, Ashley Merrill, Blythe Obar, Tyler Isgrig, Skylar Zinnecker and Ashlee Zirkel.
  *   Baylor lost just two starters from the 2023 squad.
  *   Joining the 2023 squad are two transfers, goalkeeper Azul Alvarez (TCU) and midfielder Kai Hayes (UNC).
  *   The six incoming freshmen are, Alysiah Lockette, Paisley Mabra, Caelan DeBolt, Jade Martinez, Madison Encinas and Hilary Washington.
  *   Returning to the squad for the first time since the 2022 season in fifth-year Marissa Gray. After working for the past year and applying to PT school, Gray re-joined the Bears to use her fifth year of eligibility. She hasn’t seen playing time since the 2019 season due to injury but returns to the pitch as a veteran on the backline.
  *   This season the Bears roster features two international student-athletes for the first time since the 2017 season. Salma Simonin returns to Baylor from Manchester, United Kingdom and Hilary Washington joins the Bears from Wellesley, Ontario, Canada.
  *   BU faced UTSA in a preseason exhibition match and shutout the Roadrunners 3-0. In the three 30-minute period format, Ashley Merrill picked up where she left off last season, scoring two of the Bears goals in the preseason contest. Also finding the back of the net against UTSA was sophomore, Theresa McCullough.
  *   Merrill was the team’s leading point scorer last season with 25 points from 12 goals and one assist. With her 12 goals, Merrill scored the most goals from an individual player in a single season since Dana Larsen in 2012.
  *   The Bears are 1-0 all-time against Mississippi State, with the only meeting between the two squads coming on Sept. 1, 2022, when BU won 2-1.
  *   BU’s and the St. Bonaventure Bonnies will be facing off for the first time in the program’s history on Sunday at Betty Lou Mays Field.


- BaylorBears.com -

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Katy Gilmore | Associate Director of Athletic Communications
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
O: 254-710-2743 | C: 254-252-2182

[cidimage002.png at 01D79F3C.9D2300D0]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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