Each half told a different story for the Baylor and East Hamilton girls' soccer teams, as their Tuesday night match at East Hamilton ended in a 2-2 draw.
Baylor took its turn in the first half, making an aggressive push to create scoring opportunities. The Lady Red Raiders lofted crosses in front of the goal, but early in the half most found defenders' feet.
Mya McGee ended the drought midway through the half by taking advantage of a ball bouncing dangerously in the box. The ball wasn't cleared and McGee hooked her left foot around it for the score.
With 16:30 to go until the halftime whistle, McGee passed the ball out of the midfield and quickly got it back and put Baylor up 2-0.
"We were getting the ball high and wide and creating dangerous chances," Baylor coach Curtis Blair said. "We were putting some crosses in, and we had to finish."
East Hamilton turned the tide in the second half. The Lady Hurricanes defenders played aggressively to knock the Lady Red Raiders out of rhythm and made some adjustments.
"We put Lauren (Barcelona) up top and had a player on defense, Ryleigh Fleming, come back from injury, so we had a little more flexibility," East Hamilton coach Carrie Hill said. "Baylor's a quality opponent. We knew we'd be challenged, and the girls did a nice job making adjustments on the fly."
Barcelona's move to forward added speed to the Lady Hurricanes' offense, and it didn't take long to pay dividends. Three minutes into the half, she controlled the ball near midfield and seemingly found another gear to sprint ahead of the defense and cut the deficit in half.
"Her speed is obviously a big asset, but we also have a few girls who have played together for years and years," Hill said. "She and Julia (Kaset) have good chemistry with each other and have a good feel for how the other is going to move and how they like to play. And they're intelligent players."
The seniors made their connection apparent as Barcelona set Kaset up for the equalizer just inside the left post.
Baylor managed to mount more pressure but could not find the same success it had in the first half. The Lady Red Raiders outshot the Lady Hurricanes 21-7.
"We have to work on that killer mentality," Blair said. "That's something we don't have. Right now, in the second half we get up and don't put teams away like we should."
East Hamilton goalkeeper Darci Zeh did her part, making a nice save on a header and then catching a point-blank shot right in front of the goal. Zeh collected six saves.
Contact Idris Garcia at sports@timesfreepress.com.