CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Where Cleveland struggled Wednesday night, Baylor thrived.
The Red Raiders capitalized on each of their opportunities in the box, getting two goals and an assist from Sam Williams and going on to defeat host Cleveland 3-0 in the first game of the Cleveland Soccer Classic at the Cleveland Soccer Complex.
Williams was able to outrace the Blue Raider defense and finish for goals in both halves.
“The thing that helped us out was defending,” Baylor coach Curtis Blair said. “We have to defend first – we’re not going to get a lot of goals, so we have to take advantage of what we have.
“We were able to play the ball to Sam to where he could get behind the defense and run onto the ball, instead of getting the ball to his feet.”
In stark contrast, Cleveland struggled to finish, outshooting Baylor 12-11, but missing key opportunities to score from close range.
“We had opportunities – not as many as I would have liked – but we’re just lacking that killer instinct in the box,” Cleveland coach John Brose said.
Baylor (3-1) took a 1-0 lead halfway through the first half when Jeff Shibata nailed a long lead pass ahead to Williams, who got free from Cleveland’s Tyler Goza and poked a shot past goalie Ted Lackey.
He added a second goal in the second half, taking another long pass – this time from Colby Hopwood – and knocking another shot through three minutes into the second half.
Williams then added an assist, feeding the ball to freshman Ramsey Seagle, whose shot deflected off a Cleveland player into the goal.
“We’re really inexperienced and trying to mold seniors and freshmen together, and get them to understand what it takes to compete day-to-day,” said Blair.
Said Brose: “It’s just one of those games that we’ll have to take on the chin. We’ll move on and do better next time. We possessed well, but inside the 18, we couldn’t put one home. Defensively, we just let one mistake lead to another.”