Baylor's Austin Maize and Father Ryan's Slate Rider battle for control of the ball Saturday at Baylor.The Baylor boys' soccer team dug itself a pretty large hole right out of the gate of its match against top-ranked Father Ryan on Saturday, and the Red Raiders never were quite able to get out.
The Irish scored three goals in the first seven minutes and ultimately won 4-1 in an emotionally charged Division II-AA East/Middle Region match at Baylor. The win gave Father Ryan (8-4-3, 5-0-1) the regular-season championship and the region's top seed headed into the playoffs, which will begin next week.
Third-ranked Baylor (11-4-1, 2-2-1) needs to win Tuesday at Brentwood Academy to claim the No. 3 seed in the playoffs.
Senior forward Lowry Wilson had a hand in the Irish's goals in the third, fifth and seventh minutes. He took a shot that was saved by Baylor keeper Colin Brewer, but the ball bounded to Will Ballinger, who scored on the rebound. Wilson assisted Stephen Bailey for a goal two minutes later, then scored himself when there was a miscommunication in the Baylor defense.
"Baylor made a couple of mistakes that we didn't expect them to make, but I thought they did a good job regrouping," Father Ryan coach Robin Dieterich said. "You would always like to jump out like that, but it never happens. We played well in spots but seemed to hit a lull after those first three goals."
Baylor got on the board in the 33rd minute when Christian Wright dribbled the length of the field before passing to Aaron Railton, who netted a goal.
The second half was full of emotions, fouls and cards. A total of five yellow cards were issued, including one to Dieterich, and Baylor's Austin Maize was issued a red card for language late in the match. He will have to miss the next two matches.
Ryan Lackore scored the Nashville team's final goal with about seven minutes left to play.
"We lost our composure at spots," Baylor coach Curtis Blair said. "Every time that they played the ball long they got a goal, so we have some things to fix in the back. I thought our midfield and our forwards played well, but we have to be smart and play the game no matter what.
"The big thing is that we have to fix some things before the postseason."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6311. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.