The Baylor girls’ soccer team didn’t have a kitchen sink Tuesday night, but if they had, there’s a chance the Lady Red Raiders might have thrown that at GPS keeper Simone Busby in an attempt to score a goal.
Nothing else seemed to work.
Busby finished with 11 saves and the Bruisers survived a second-half ambush to wind up in a 0-0 tie at GPS against the state’s top-ranked Division II team.
The Lady Raiders (10-0-1) dominated possession – especially in the second half, when they pushed extra players forward. They fired off a total of 16 shots while limiting GPS (5-4-5) to three, none in the second half.
“In watching the beginning of the game, we weren’t worried about getting scored on,” Baylor coach Curtis Blair said. “It was a combination of the way they were playing and the way our defense was playing, so we decided to push numbers forward. We created some chances, but Simone came up big for them like she always does.”
Busby definitely was tested in both halves, making a one-handed diving save while falling backward in the first half before the flurry in the second half.
The Lady Raiders’ Chloe Brackett had a point-blank shot off a corner-kick restart but shot it right at Busby. Kelly Pannell later had an opportunity when the junior keeper was caught out of the box, but Pannell pushed it over the goal frame.
Marci Carter and Alex Cannon both had chances late, but Carter’s free kick hit the crossbar and Cannon missed a shot high in the final moments.
“I’m pleased with our overall effort,” GPS coach Dave Barrueta said. “Baylor did a good job of peppering shots from 25, 30 yards out; we did a good job of not letting them get behind us.”
When asked about Busby, Barrueta only said, “Simone is Simone.”
Said Blair: “We’re still on top of the region, and we went on the road against a region opponent and got a tie. I have no problem with that.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6311.