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<h1 align="right" style="text-align:right"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;text-decoration:none">BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – September 14, 2023<o:p></o:p></span></b></h1>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">Baylor Soccer Falls in Conference Opener Against No. 16 Texas, 4-0<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">Bears hold the Longhorns scoreless in the first half<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">For more information contact:
</span></b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Katy Gilmore; 254-252-2182,
</span><a href="mailto:katy_gilmore@baylor.edu"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">katy_gilmore@baylor.edu</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color:black;mso-ligatures:none">THE RUNDOWN</span></b><span style="color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><br>
</span><strong><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">WACO, Texas – </span></strong><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">Baylor soccer fell to 16<sup>th</sup>-ranked Texas in its conference opener, 4-0,
Thursday night at Betty Lou Mays Field. </span><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><br>
<span style="background:white"> </span><br>
<span style="background:white">The Bears and Longhorns battled for all of the first half and went scoreless until the second half. Starting goalkeeper Ashlee Zirkel came up with huge saves in the first half, recording her first in the 21<sup>st</sup> minute.
In the 32<sup>nd</sup> minute, she came up with back-to-back saves to stop Texas’ attack and keep the Longhorns off the board.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">Tyler Isgrig provided the Bears’ first threat in the first half, putting a shot on frame in the 15<sup>th</sup> minute, but the Texas goalkeeper came up with the
save. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">The momentum went to the Longhorns in the second half, with their first goal on a penalty kick after a handball in the box. With the 1-0 lead, Texas was able to find its second, third
and fourth goals within the span of nine minutes to give the Longhorns the 4-0 advantage.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">Ashley Merrill, Skye Leach and Isgrig were the only three Bears to record a shot in the second half, with Merrill and Isgrig each putting one on frame.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white"> </span><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><br>
<strong><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">HIGHLIGHTS</span></strong><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul style="margin-top:0in" type="disc">
<li class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="color:black;margin-left:0in;mso-add-space:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;text-autospace:none">
<span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:windowtext">Ashley Zirkel had a career-high nine saves</span><b><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li><li class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="color:black;margin-left:0in;mso-add-space:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;text-autospace:none">
<span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:windowtext">Four Bears combined for the team’s seven shots, with Tyler Isgrig leading the way with three</span><b><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li><li class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="color:black;margin-left:0in;mso-add-space:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;text-autospace:none">
<span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:windowtext">The Bears took six corner kicks</span><b><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li><li class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="color:black;margin-left:0in;mso-add-space:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;text-autospace:none">
<span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">BU held the Longhorns scoreless in the first half
<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><strong><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">QUOTABLE</span></strong><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><br>
<dfn><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Michelle Lenard</span></dfn><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background:white"> </span></span><span style="background:white">on the game … </span><br>
“A 4-0 loss looks like a beat down, but if we fix the ability to control the space, that doesn’t happen. And that starts with our backline responding better in the second half, stepping and being more aggressive. Be willing to deal with counter attacks, which
Ashlee (Zirkel) can do it because she’s fast, she’s good off the line. She can play high, that’s why she’s in this game. And then we don’t. We drop, drop, drop, and we just give really good, technical players too much time and space inside our box.</span>”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><br>
<strong><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">WHAT'S NEXT</span></strong><br>
<span style="background:white">The Bears will face UTSA on Sunday, Sept. 17, at 6 p.m. CT in their last non-conference test of the season.
</span></span><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><em><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">- BaylorBears.com - </span></em><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">-- <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">__________________________________</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:6.5pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"> </span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#154734;mso-ligatures:none">Katy Gilmore</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"> | Associate Director of Athletic Communications</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Department of Athletics | Baylor University</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">O: 254-710-2743 | C: 254-252-2182</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://baylorbears.com/" title="http://baylorbears.com/"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:windowtext;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="160" height="44" style="width:1.6666in;height:.4583in" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.png@01D9E75B.E306E3A0" alt="cidimage002.png@01D79F3C.9D2300D0"></span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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