Dayton Spoils KU Soccer's Five-Game Win Streak
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Despite scoring twice as many goals during the second half this season, the University of Kansas soccer team could not muster a comeback as it fell 3-1 to Dayton on a rainy Friday evening at the Purdue Boilermaker Challenge.
Tied 1-1 at halftime from a Caroline Kastor goal early in the match, Dayton scored a pair of goals in the second half to spoil the Jayhawks five-game winning streak. KU fell to 5-2 overall, while the Flyers, who are just a week removed from the top 25, improved to 5-1.
The Jayhawks out-shot Dayton 10-6 in the final 45 minutes but could not find the back of the net. Junior Whitney Berry led Kansas with five shots during the match, including a team-high two on goal. Nine additional Jayhawks tallied at least one attempt at the net as KU held a slight 18-17 edge in shots for the game.
Freshman Ingrid Vidal set up Kastor’s goal in the 10th minute of the game when she passed the ball up to top of box. Kastor put a foot on it right before the Dayton goalkeeper could get there as she moved around the goalie. The forward was left with an open goal for the easy score, her second goal of the year. Vidal’s assist gave the freshman at least one point in each of the last five games.
Dayton was able to tie the game in the first half when it won a free kick about 30 yards out from the goal. Emily Kenyon served a floater into the box where Sarah Senoyuit finished the play with a header into the goal in the 32nd minute to knot the score.
Shortly after the break, the Flyers took the lead in the 48th minute. Colleen Williams had the ball along the goal line and made a short pass to the near corner. Kelsey Owen then punched the ball into the high corner.
Despite suffering her first loss of the year, redshirt freshman Kaitlyn Stroud made several big plays during the contest, including the 54th minute when she stopped a penalty kick, KU defender Brittany King was charged with a foul in the box but Stroud dove left on the free kick and batted the ball away.
The Flyers still managed another goal with just over six minutes to play. Dayton’s Williams fired a shot from 15 yards out in the center of the box. The slick conditions made it hard for Stroud to handle the ball as it slipped by her to give the Flyers their final 3-1 tally.
KU will play the winner of Friday’s Purdue vs. Cal State Northridge game on Sunday, Sept. 4 at 10 a.m. at the Varsity Soccer Complex on the Purdue campus.
