Kansas soccer defeats Iowa State, fall to Texas Tech in weekend play
- Oct. 21, 2012
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The Jayhawks started the weekend needing just one point to secure a spot in the Big 12 Championships. Kansas ended a two-game scoreless streak by crushing Iowa State 4-1 on Friday before losing the Big 12 finale 3-1 to Texas Tech on Sunday.
TYLER ROSTE/KANSAN
Midfielder Haley Yearout kicks the ball down the field as a Texas Tech defender approaches in Sunday’s game. The Jayhawks lost 3-1.
After a slow start, the Jayhawks began to find gaps in the Cyclones’ defense with senior Sarah Robbins and freshman Courtney Dickerson, both coming close to scoring halfway through the first half.
With 19 minutes left in the first half, Dickerson raced down the sideline and played a cross when the ball struck the outstretched arm of an Iowa State defender, resulting in a penalty kick for Kansas. Senior Whitney Berry stepped up to take the penalty, but was denied by a diving Maddie Jobe for Iowa State.
Kansas’s pressure finally broke the Iowa State defense when Amy Grow stole the ball in midfield before passing to Dickerson, who was able to tuck the ball inside the far post. Just three minutes later, Kansas’s leading scorer Caroline Kastor saw her low shot sneak past the goalie for a 2-0 Jayhawk lead at the half.
Five minutes after the break, Berry got her redemption when she was brought down in the box after her dummy wrong-footed the defender. This time Berry slotted home, making it 3-0 for the Jayhawks. With a little more than 20 minutes remaining, senior forward Nicole Chrisopulos scored the first goal of her college career to make it 4-0 Kansas.
“Nicole works extremely hard; I think this year has been her best year,” coach Mark Francis said when discussing the senior’s contribution to the team.
Iowa State grabbed a late goal when the Cyclone’s leading scorer, Jennifer Dominguez, notched her 12th goal of the season on a header off a free kick.
After wrapping up a spot in the conference tournament, the Jayhawks entered Sunday’s game looking to add to Friday’s win.
Kansas struck first when Texas Tech allowed Courtney Dickerson through on goal and the forward was able to score her second goal in two games, giving the Jayhawks an early lead.
With just 10 minutes left in the half, the Red Raiders struck when Dawn Ward headed the ball into the back of the net to tie the game.
As the halftime buzzer sounded, the Jayhawks appeared to score a goal through Ashley Williams. Her shot looked like it was knocked into the net by the Texas Tech goalie before the buzzer sounded, but the referee disallowed the goal.
“I thought it was a goal; the ball went in the goal before the buzzer,” Francis said. “Regardless of whether that was a goal or not, we still had plenty of opportunities.”
Kansas started the second half brightly, but soon found itself a goal down when Paige Strahan played a one-two and fired a volley into the top of the net. Nine minutes later, the Red Raiders scored again. This time Briana Rohmer fired a shot that Kansas goalie Kat Liebetrau could only graze with her fingertips as it bounced into the net.
The Jayhawks almost scored a late goal, but the Red Raiders were able to clear Kastor’s header off the line.
Kansas slipped to 3-5 in conference play this year and will either finish fifth or sixth in the league, depending on Oklahoma’s final Big 12 game. Kansas will play its final regular season game when the Jayhawks host Northern Colorado on Friday in Lawrence before traveling to San Antonio for the Big 12 Championships.
“At this point for our season to keep going, we are going to have to win the conference tournament,” Francis said.
