No. 10 Baylor Soccer Closes Out Home Slate With 2-0 Win Over Utah

[Pirtle, Colin]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – Oct. 19, 2025

No. 10 Baylor Soccer Closes Out Home Slate With 2-0 Win Over Utah
Bears head into three-straight road matches after home win
For more information contact: Colin Pirtle; 940-564-0351, colin_pirtle1 at baylor.edu<mailto:colin_pirtle1 at baylor.edu>


WACO, Texas – No. 10 Baylor soccer (11-2-2, 6-2 Big 12) bounced back at home over Utah (7-7-3, 2-4-2 Big 12) on Sunday afternoon at Betty Lou Mays Field. With the win, the Bears secured their first win over Utah since 1997.



The Bears controlled the pace early, breaking through in the 34th minute when midfielder Kai Hayes headed in a perfectly placed set piece from Tyler Isgrig. The goal marked Hayes’ third of the season, second in the past three games, and gave Baylor a 1-0 advantage heading into half.



After the half, Baylor stayed on the attack, earning eight corner kicks in the second period, well above its season average of 3.4 per late frame. One of the Bears’ best opportunities came in the 74th minute, when Nyela Calnek’s strike off a corner was narrowly deflected by Utah goalkeeper Erin Gibbs.



Baylor’s insurance goal came from capitalizing on one of its many corner opportunities in the 85th minute, when Blythe Obar came up from the back line and lofted a shot over Gibbs from the top of the box. The goal was set up by strong corner play from Isgrig and Olivia Hess, marking Obar’s first goal in her four seasons as a Bear and just the second goal of her career.



On the defensive end, Baylor’s back line recorded its ninth shutout of the season. Starting goalkeeper Azul Alvarez, a two-time Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Week honoree, played 68 minutes before exiting with an injury following a Utah corner kick. In relief, Ashlee Zirkel made her first appearance of the season, recording one save and helping the Bears hold firm to secure the clean sheet.



QUOTABLE

Head coach Michelle Lenard

On the bounce back win…

"I think obviously we want to come out and get a result. I didn't feel good about [the TCU match], so getting a win, especially on our last home game, was important and we did all the things we needed to do to win today. We had a lot of possession, dominated the game overall and limited their chances at a couple scary moments. We created a lot more chances in the second half, so I was happy about that. The goal we scored was funny, because we missed some wide-open chances, but sometimes that’s just soccer and the ball ended up in the back of the net, so that's all that matters. I am proud of our response for sure."



Midfielder Kai Hayes

On momentum shift after scoring first…

“[Scoring first] allows us to settle down a little bit and know that we’re more in control, but one goal is not good enough. We know, especially against Utah or any team in the Big 12, we’re going to have to knock a few more in there. So, it definitely helps build confidence and gives us a little more mojo moving forward.”



UP NEXT

Baylor travels to Orlando, Fla., to face UCF on Thursday at 6 p.m. in the first of three upcoming road matches to wrap up the regular season.



To stay up to date throughout the year on all things Baylor Soccer, follow the team on Facebook, X and Instagram: @BaylorFutbol.



- BaylorBears.com -

_________________________________________
Colin Pirtle | Associate Director of Athletics Communications (WBB, Soccer, W. Tennis)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 940-564-0351

[signature_2230589939]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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