Jayhawk Soccer Shuts Out UNLV in Season Opener

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Meghan Miller stopped four shots to collected her 20th career shutout and lead the No. 17 Kansas Jayhawks to a 2-0 season-opening win over UNLV on Saturday night at Peter Johann Memorial Field in Las Vegas, Nev.

Kansas (1-0) got on the board in the 27th minute of the first half when junior Caroline Smith deflected a pass from Rachel Gilfillan into the net for the first Jayhawk goal of the season. Forward Jessica Smith put the team up 2-0 less than four minutes later, as she took a pass from Lauren Williams and blasted a shot past UNLV goalkeeper Jenna Huff.

Miller, who is hold the school record for career shutouts, made three saves in the second half to preserve her first shutout of the season.

“I thought it was pretty much a typical first game,” said head coach Mark Francis. “We came out a little bit excited at the beginning of the first half, but we settled down and played much better for the next 20 minutes to take a 2-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, we did not play as consistent as I would have liked us to, so we still have some things we need to improve on. Overall I’m pretty happy about our team’s performance in its
first game.”

Kansas soccer will be back in action on Monday when it heads to Provo, Utah, to take on the BYU Cougars at 3 p.m. CST.