Pepperdine knocks off #18 Jayhawks

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Pepperdine University scored three second half goals to erase a one-goal deficit and hand 18th-ranked Kansas its first loss at home in nearly a year, 3-1 Friday at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex.

KU, which had not lost at home since Sept. 25 of last year, falls to 4-2 overall while the Waves improve to 4-1-2.

“Pepperdine didn’t give up, they kept coming at us,” KU head coach Mark Francis said. “We made a couple of the mistakes on a couple of the goals, but give them credit, they stuck it out. We let up a little bit in the second half and it cost us the game.”

Trailing 1-0 at halftime, the Waves scored three unanswered goals in the second half for their fourth victory of the season.

KU got on the board late in the first half, when senior Jessica Kilpatrick cleaned up a corner kick deep in Pepperdine territory. Following Monica Dolinsky’s corner kick, Kim Boyer took control of the ball in front of the goal and set up Kilpatrcik, who tapped it into the top corner on the far side of the goal at 36:42.

KU dominated the flow of play in the first half, outshooting the Waves 9-1 and collecting six corner kicks, however, could only muster the one goal.

Pepperdine tied the match just one minute, 51 seconds into the second half as Jennifer Brewer used the wind to bend a perfect shot over KU goalkeeper Julie Hanley from 40 yards out.

The Waves took the lead in the 57th minute as Kelly Reilly cleaned up a loose ball in front of the box after the keeper and a Pepperdine attacker struggled for control just inside the 18-yard box. Reilly collected the ball and lofted a shot into the empty net.

The ball took another bad bounce for KU later in the half. Pepperdine’s McKenzie Hill found herself unmarked just outside the Jayhawks’ box after a Lindsey Redlin’s free kick ricocheted off a KU defender in the wall. Hill capitalized on the fortunate bounce and blasted a shot past the keeper.

KU outshot the Waves 16-8 for the match and forced goalkeeper Kayla Stolte into making five saves.

The Jayhawks will look to bounce back Sunday with a home match against UCF at 1 p.m.