Baylor falls in the Final Four to Briarcrest 2-1

Baylor's Lady Red Raiders (15-6-1) were unable to get past Briarcrest despite striking first. In the 73rd minute, Ali Howard — the daughter of former U.S. men's national team goalkeeper Tim Howard — lifted a high-arcing shot from the far left sideline that magically dropped into the right side of the net for the tiebreaking score.

The Lady Red Raiders had three great looks in the last four minutes as they tried to equalize, which included their last chance as Jada Cooper's shot hit the crossbar in the 78th.

Baylor held a 19-11 advantage on shots and scored the match's first goal in the 47th minute on a great dish from Cooper to the right post, where Sophia Mize stuck with the rebound from her first shot to run the ball into the net. Briarcrest's tying goal came nine minutes after that.

"I am proud of our girls for their effort and making it this far after we lost 85% of our scoring from last season. A lot of people didn't expect us to be here," said Baylor coach Curtis Blair, whose team was the DII-AA runner-up to Harpeth Hall in 2021.

"Claire Holtzclaw did a great job leading this team. She has played since eighth grade for us, and we put a lot on her shoulders in terms of being a captain. She fullfilled every expectation we asked of her and gave us her best effort all year long."

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