Photo by: Mike Greening
Baucom Sets Sights High Ahead Of Final Season After Transferring From LSU
April 16, 2018 | Soccer
CU won two spring games on Saturday by a combined score of 8-0 with two goals from Baucom
BOULDER – Don't burn bridges. It's a motto that Colorado soccer head coach Danny Sanchez has lived by his whole coaching career, leading him to two NCAA Division II national championships at Metro State, and it has benefitted him and his CU teams recently. The Buffs have been the beneficiaries of a number of players that Sanchez recruited out of high school, but chose to go elsewhere to start college, only later deciding to transfer to Boulder.
Jorian Baucom is one of the latest success stories. Originally recruited by Sanchez, Baucom committed to LSU in 2012 when she was a sophomore in high school and the Buffs were coming off an 8-8-4 record in Sanchez's first season building his program at CU. At the time, the SEC school seemed more appealing, but six years later, the Buffs are coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, part of a stretch of four postseason appearances in the past five seasons.
"Colorado was one of my past offers back in high school," Baucom said. "I always kept them in the back of my mind in case something were to happen. Danny, the coaches, and the team have always remained positive and never burned bridges. I felt like it was the best fit once my options were open at the time when I decided to transfer."
A five-star recruit and ranked the 13th-best player in the country, Baucom passed on the Buffs after their .500 season.
"Even when we were .500 [in 2012], we were trying to sell her on the vison of what we were doing, but at the time we understood it would be hard to get a player like that," Sanchez said. "Obviously she followed our progression and we were really pleased when she reached out to us to play her senior season."
She spent three years at LSU (2014-16), earning first-team All-SEC honors and scoring a total of 33 goals. There was not much more she could accomplish on a team that had a record of 25-30-7 during that stretch.
"I just didn't see that that was the best fit to get to where I need to be in the future because I want to play professional soccer," Baucom said of her time at her previous school. "At the end of the day I just need to make the best choice for myself to get to where I need to be."
Her senior season on the pitch with the Buffs was delayed one year as she came to Boulder with an injury that forced her to miss the 2017 season. But that season on the sidelines has helped her transition to the new school.
"Obviously it sucks sitting on the sidelines, but I almost take this as a positive experience," Baucom said. "I came in new so just taking this year to see the team, see what they are used to, their tendencies, and how it will work with me when I came back to play. I took it as a learning opportunity. I think it actually made me a better player just taking this year out and taking a different perspective from the sidelines."
Sanchez thinks that despite scoring 33 goals in three seasons in the SEC, Baucom's breakout season is still in front of her. The Buffs have a strong group of players around her and she will be playing the best teams in the country every week. CU has the potential to go deep into the NCAA Tournament this fall compete for a conference championship.
"I think that she is coachable and I think she still has a lot more to give," Sanchez said. "She has had three very good seasons at LSU, but as far as having a breakout season, I think she still has that in front of her. She will be playing in the toughest league in the country, but she will be on a good team with a good supporting cast and lots of competition. We have a lot of very good strikers. We are looking forward to what she is doing. She has high expectations for herself and the team. That is why she came here."
Baucom has aspirations of playing both professionally and for the United States Women's National Team after her graduation, and CU seems like the best fit to reach her goals. The Buffs have put out two NWSL draft picks in the past two seasons and have had 12 players go on to play professionally over the past decade, with eight in the NWSL. CU is quickly becoming a college soccer hotbed to the next level.
Baucom already has plenty of international experience on youth national teams, competing at the U-15, U-16, U-19 and U-20 levels, while also being a part of U-14, U-17 and U-18 player pools. But her ultimate goal is to play on the full USWNT.
"Growing up playing on the youth national teams, I kind of got the inside of what you need to do to be at that next level," Baucom said. "Ultimately, I do want to be on the full women's national team at some point of my career and to play professionally in the states or whether it be overseas—whatever opportunity best presents itself for me, where I can be seen best."
Sanchez says Baucom has the tools to be a special player.
"Jorian really is a player that gets herself into the box," Sanchez said. "She is physical and she has got really good pace. She is a goal scorer. I think she is a little unique, she is more like an Anne Stuller in that sense as far as a player that does her best work in the final third."
This spring, Baucom is off to a great start as a Buff. In four spring games, she has scored three goals, including two on Saturday.
Off the pitch, the Scottsdale, Ariz., native is currently working on finishing up her bachelor's degree in communication and advertising and will graduate from CU in December.
SATURDAY RECAP:
It was a great day for the Buffs as they outscored two opponents by a combined score of 8-0, including a 5-0 thrashing of in-state rival Colorado State and a 3-0 win over FC Boulder, a club team made up of former college players that competes in Colorado. CU jumped out to a comfortable lead in both matches, leading CSU 4-0 26 minutes in, and FC Boulder 3-0 just 21 minutes in.
"The Colorado State game I thought we started slow," Sanchez said. "Scout made some really good saves early, but then after that bang, bang, bang. Three goals were really good goals and then one late in the first half to go up 4-0. Probably not indicative of the run of play in the first half, but like I told the team before the game, a goal is a goal. I thought we scored good goals. I thought the second half we managed the game. I think we took our foot off the pedal a little bit. I think Cassie [Phillips] got a good goal late. A good performance, but like I told the team as well, we get some good film out of it. I thought there really were some stretches where it wasn't our best soccer, so I don't know if the score is really indicative of the run of play. Colorado State had good runs.
"The second game we come out and bang in three goals in the first 21 minutes and I thought at that point we started to get tired. It's just nature when you play back-to-back 90-minute games with a little bit of a break in-between. To be fair to the FC Boulder team, they are coached well, they are organized, they had good numbers, and good players. I thought our goalkeepers were the women of the match. JJ in the first half and then Scout obviously saved the penalty and dealing with stuff in the second half. Not our best performance in our second game, but not 100 percent unexpected. Once again, we got a shutout and scored three good goals."
Megan Massey scored a pair of goals against CSU, while Baucom found the scoring column twice against FCB. Marty Puketapu had a huge day, totaling a goal and three assists between the two matches, and Stephanie Zuniga had a goal and two assists against the Rams.
"The first game, I thought Stephanie was very good," Sanchez said. "She had [two] assists, but played good balls. Megan Massey banged in a couple goals. I thought she was very good. I think the second game, it wasn't our best performance. It was good for Jorian to get a couple goals at Prentup. Hopefully we see more of that in the fall. I thought Cassie had a good second game. I thought she covered ground and she still looked fresh at the end of the game, where some of them looked like me, not moving real quick."
Sanchez was impressed with the play of his goalkeepers throughout the day. Scout Watson and Jalen Tompkins combined to make 13 saves, each playing a total of 90 minutes between the two contests. Watson came up big early vs. CSU and stopped a penalty kick against FC Boulder in the second half. Tompkins was busy late in the first half vs. FCB.
"Scout made that really early save probably in the first two minutes in the game against Colorado State that could have changed the whole tempo of the game," Sanchez said. "She did really well. JJ the second game after we scored those three goals, she probably made two really good saves. The second half of this second game, when the game started to get stretched, Scout [played great], not only making the penalty save, reading it well, but dealing with everything else. I thought they both [goalkeepers] performed very well."
The Buffs wrap up their spring season this weekend in Lincoln, Neb. They will take on Nebraska on Saturday at 7 p.m. before facing South Dakota at noon on Sunday.
Colorado State 0 0 - 0
Colorado 4 1 - 5
Goals: Zuniga 12' (Best), Massey 13' (Zuniga), Massey 22' (Zuniga), Joella 26' (Puketapu), Phillips 73' (unassisted)
Starters: Watson (GK), Weiner, Vidger, Cardenas, Aaknes, Best, Massey, Dalton, Zuniga, Shymka, Barton
Reserves: Baucom, Kornieck, Kinzner, Joella, Goodwin, Phillips, Puketapu, Greening, Tompkins
FC Boulder 0 0 - 0
Colorado 3 0 - 3
Goals: Baucom 7' (Puketapu), Puketapu 15' (Kornieck), Baucom 21' (Kinzner, Puketapu)
Starters: Tompkins (GK), Goodwin, Best, Cardenas, Greening, Phillips, Kinzner, Kornieck, Joella, Baucom, Puketapu
Reserves: Zuniga, Barton, Shymka, Massey, Vidger, Weiner, Aaknes, Dalton, Orejel, Watson
Jorian Baucom is one of the latest success stories. Originally recruited by Sanchez, Baucom committed to LSU in 2012 when she was a sophomore in high school and the Buffs were coming off an 8-8-4 record in Sanchez's first season building his program at CU. At the time, the SEC school seemed more appealing, but six years later, the Buffs are coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, part of a stretch of four postseason appearances in the past five seasons.
"Colorado was one of my past offers back in high school," Baucom said. "I always kept them in the back of my mind in case something were to happen. Danny, the coaches, and the team have always remained positive and never burned bridges. I felt like it was the best fit once my options were open at the time when I decided to transfer."
A five-star recruit and ranked the 13th-best player in the country, Baucom passed on the Buffs after their .500 season.
"Even when we were .500 [in 2012], we were trying to sell her on the vison of what we were doing, but at the time we understood it would be hard to get a player like that," Sanchez said. "Obviously she followed our progression and we were really pleased when she reached out to us to play her senior season."
She spent three years at LSU (2014-16), earning first-team All-SEC honors and scoring a total of 33 goals. There was not much more she could accomplish on a team that had a record of 25-30-7 during that stretch.
"I just didn't see that that was the best fit to get to where I need to be in the future because I want to play professional soccer," Baucom said of her time at her previous school. "At the end of the day I just need to make the best choice for myself to get to where I need to be."
Her senior season on the pitch with the Buffs was delayed one year as she came to Boulder with an injury that forced her to miss the 2017 season. But that season on the sidelines has helped her transition to the new school.
"Obviously it sucks sitting on the sidelines, but I almost take this as a positive experience," Baucom said. "I came in new so just taking this year to see the team, see what they are used to, their tendencies, and how it will work with me when I came back to play. I took it as a learning opportunity. I think it actually made me a better player just taking this year out and taking a different perspective from the sidelines."
Sanchez thinks that despite scoring 33 goals in three seasons in the SEC, Baucom's breakout season is still in front of her. The Buffs have a strong group of players around her and she will be playing the best teams in the country every week. CU has the potential to go deep into the NCAA Tournament this fall compete for a conference championship.
"I think that she is coachable and I think she still has a lot more to give," Sanchez said. "She has had three very good seasons at LSU, but as far as having a breakout season, I think she still has that in front of her. She will be playing in the toughest league in the country, but she will be on a good team with a good supporting cast and lots of competition. We have a lot of very good strikers. We are looking forward to what she is doing. She has high expectations for herself and the team. That is why she came here."
Baucom has aspirations of playing both professionally and for the United States Women's National Team after her graduation, and CU seems like the best fit to reach her goals. The Buffs have put out two NWSL draft picks in the past two seasons and have had 12 players go on to play professionally over the past decade, with eight in the NWSL. CU is quickly becoming a college soccer hotbed to the next level.
Baucom already has plenty of international experience on youth national teams, competing at the U-15, U-16, U-19 and U-20 levels, while also being a part of U-14, U-17 and U-18 player pools. But her ultimate goal is to play on the full USWNT.
"Growing up playing on the youth national teams, I kind of got the inside of what you need to do to be at that next level," Baucom said. "Ultimately, I do want to be on the full women's national team at some point of my career and to play professionally in the states or whether it be overseas—whatever opportunity best presents itself for me, where I can be seen best."
Sanchez says Baucom has the tools to be a special player.
"Jorian really is a player that gets herself into the box," Sanchez said. "She is physical and she has got really good pace. She is a goal scorer. I think she is a little unique, she is more like an Anne Stuller in that sense as far as a player that does her best work in the final third."
This spring, Baucom is off to a great start as a Buff. In four spring games, she has scored three goals, including two on Saturday.
Off the pitch, the Scottsdale, Ariz., native is currently working on finishing up her bachelor's degree in communication and advertising and will graduate from CU in December.
SATURDAY RECAP:
It was a great day for the Buffs as they outscored two opponents by a combined score of 8-0, including a 5-0 thrashing of in-state rival Colorado State and a 3-0 win over FC Boulder, a club team made up of former college players that competes in Colorado. CU jumped out to a comfortable lead in both matches, leading CSU 4-0 26 minutes in, and FC Boulder 3-0 just 21 minutes in.
"The Colorado State game I thought we started slow," Sanchez said. "Scout made some really good saves early, but then after that bang, bang, bang. Three goals were really good goals and then one late in the first half to go up 4-0. Probably not indicative of the run of play in the first half, but like I told the team before the game, a goal is a goal. I thought we scored good goals. I thought the second half we managed the game. I think we took our foot off the pedal a little bit. I think Cassie [Phillips] got a good goal late. A good performance, but like I told the team as well, we get some good film out of it. I thought there really were some stretches where it wasn't our best soccer, so I don't know if the score is really indicative of the run of play. Colorado State had good runs.
"The second game we come out and bang in three goals in the first 21 minutes and I thought at that point we started to get tired. It's just nature when you play back-to-back 90-minute games with a little bit of a break in-between. To be fair to the FC Boulder team, they are coached well, they are organized, they had good numbers, and good players. I thought our goalkeepers were the women of the match. JJ in the first half and then Scout obviously saved the penalty and dealing with stuff in the second half. Not our best performance in our second game, but not 100 percent unexpected. Once again, we got a shutout and scored three good goals."
Megan Massey scored a pair of goals against CSU, while Baucom found the scoring column twice against FCB. Marty Puketapu had a huge day, totaling a goal and three assists between the two matches, and Stephanie Zuniga had a goal and two assists against the Rams.
"The first game, I thought Stephanie was very good," Sanchez said. "She had [two] assists, but played good balls. Megan Massey banged in a couple goals. I thought she was very good. I think the second game, it wasn't our best performance. It was good for Jorian to get a couple goals at Prentup. Hopefully we see more of that in the fall. I thought Cassie had a good second game. I thought she covered ground and she still looked fresh at the end of the game, where some of them looked like me, not moving real quick."
Sanchez was impressed with the play of his goalkeepers throughout the day. Scout Watson and Jalen Tompkins combined to make 13 saves, each playing a total of 90 minutes between the two contests. Watson came up big early vs. CSU and stopped a penalty kick against FC Boulder in the second half. Tompkins was busy late in the first half vs. FCB.
"Scout made that really early save probably in the first two minutes in the game against Colorado State that could have changed the whole tempo of the game," Sanchez said. "She did really well. JJ the second game after we scored those three goals, she probably made two really good saves. The second half of this second game, when the game started to get stretched, Scout [played great], not only making the penalty save, reading it well, but dealing with everything else. I thought they both [goalkeepers] performed very well."
The Buffs wrap up their spring season this weekend in Lincoln, Neb. They will take on Nebraska on Saturday at 7 p.m. before facing South Dakota at noon on Sunday.
Colorado State 0 0 - 0
Colorado 4 1 - 5
Goals: Zuniga 12' (Best), Massey 13' (Zuniga), Massey 22' (Zuniga), Joella 26' (Puketapu), Phillips 73' (unassisted)
Starters: Watson (GK), Weiner, Vidger, Cardenas, Aaknes, Best, Massey, Dalton, Zuniga, Shymka, Barton
Reserves: Baucom, Kornieck, Kinzner, Joella, Goodwin, Phillips, Puketapu, Greening, Tompkins
FC Boulder 0 0 - 0
Colorado 3 0 - 3
Goals: Baucom 7' (Puketapu), Puketapu 15' (Kornieck), Baucom 21' (Kinzner, Puketapu)
Starters: Tompkins (GK), Goodwin, Best, Cardenas, Greening, Phillips, Kinzner, Kornieck, Joella, Baucom, Puketapu
Reserves: Zuniga, Barton, Shymka, Massey, Vidger, Weiner, Aaknes, Dalton, Orejel, Watson
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