After their girls' soccer game was called last week after 15 minutes because of weather, Baylor and East Hamilton returned to Baylor for the full 80 minutes Thursday night.
A week off from competition for East Hamilton was a factor in the first half, and Baylor took advantage with two goals in a 2-1 win. The Lady Red Raiders looked dominant in the half, racking up eight shots against one for the Lady Hurricanes.
"We've been working on defending in practice the last two weeks, and we did a good job," Baylor coach Curtis Blair said. "We defended well against Cookeville (Tuesday) and again tonight."
At game time, the temperature crept around the low 90s as the sun beat down on the field. Seconds after Gracie Spurling was ready for a breather from the heat, she put the home squad on the board with 27:04 to play in the first half when she collected a rebound at the top of the box and slotted it in the lower left corner.
Baylor's second goal was a nice display of ball movement with Justice McLaughlin playing a tight ball into Loni Lustig, who lofted a cross in from the right side. Lea Hunter was on the receiving end unmarked and put it away.
"We just weren't clicking in the first half," East Hamilton coach Carrie Hill said. "You could tell we hadn't played in a week, I think. We talked at halftime about being accountable for each other and what our response would be."
The response was a better half for the Lady Hurricanes, who started to win some possession back and got two more looks at the goal while holding Baylor scoreless. About midway through the second half, East Hamilton cut the deficit in half.
The teams jostled for possession, with Baylor unable to safely clear the danger, and Gabby Larson did not waste the opportunity to end the shutout.
"We talked about our transition play on and off the ball, and I think we did that well," Hill said. "Overall, I was pretty pleased with our second half."
The goal seemed to re-energize the Lady Red Raiders, who unleashed another barrage of shots. One looked to be a third goal, but East Hamilton keeper Madeline Marenic timed her jump perfectly for the save.
The game being rescheduled to this week makes it a part of Baylor's annual tournament, which doesn't have a true winner but is a chance see strong teams early in the season.
"It's a good opportunity to gauge yourself and where your strengths and weaknesses are," Blair said. "For us, we get to see a division opponent in Briarcrest, who's going to stretch us and show us what we need to work on but also what we're doing well."
The teams include Briarcrest and Collierville from the Memphis area and local teams GPS, Notre Dame, Hixson, East Hamilton and host Baylor. Games will be played through Saturday evening.
Contact Idris Garcia at sports@timesfreepress.com