Baylor's girls' soccer team is headed back to Murfreesboro as the Lady Red Raiders continue their chase for the program's first state title since 2011 and ninth overall.
They earned their place among the final four in the Division II-AA tournament by beating Hutchison of Memphis 4-0 in a home quarterfinal Saturday. The Lady Raiders had 11 days of rest entering the game.
"You're always nervous when you have such a long break," Baylor coach Curtis Blair said. "The girls have been competing well, but you get tired of competing against each other. It's good because you get everyone rested and healthy, but on the other hand, you have to continue to stay mentally and physically sharp. It's good to finally play someone else."
There was little, if any, rust apparent as Baylor (12-0-5) built its attack before netting two goals in the first half.
On the first, Avery Davis got the ball just past midfield and raced down the sideline before cutting into the box ahead of the defense to deliver a controlled strike past the goalkeeper. Rachel Smith added another with less than seven minutes to play in the half, racing ahead of the defense as Davis had to give Baylor a 2-0 lead.
"Once we got the first one, we felt like the game would open up for us, and it did," Blair said. "We tried to play more direct, getting the ball from the midfield to our forwards. We did a good job playing the ball out of the midfield into our attacking third."
In the second half, Cambell Green fired a long-range bullet into the net and Mya McGee scored from up close with an assist from Camille Henry off a corner kick to complete the scoring.
Baylor's defense kept Hutchison (5-9-2) off the scoreboard and helped kick-start the offense.
Goalkeeper Peyton Randolph did her part early, tipping a shot and racing over to scoop it up before colliding with the post to complete the save minutes into the first half. Hutchison's Owen Hergenrader again looked to create danger, but Randolph raced out to make the stop before she got another shot off.
Baylor's stingy back line took care of the rest by disrupting Hutchison's attack throughout the afternoon.
"Our back five - our four defenders and our goalkeeper - did a really good job," Blair said. "We like to build our attack out of the back a lot of times, and even when we had subs in there, they did a great job of not only defending but of helping us build."
Baylor's semifinal, against Father Ryan, is at 7 p.m. Thursday at Richard Siegel Park in Murfreesboro.
GPS (11-5-2), which beat Brentwood Academy 4-2 on Saturday, will take on Briarcrest in the other semifinal at the same time and location.
Contact Idris Garcia at sports@timesfreepress.com.