Kansas Soccer Knocks Off Texas, 1-0
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Junior forward Emily Cressy provided the game-winning goal, while sophomore goalkeeper Kat Liebetrau and the Kansas defense put the clamps on a potent offense as the Jayhawks snapped a three-game skid with a 1-0 triumph over Texas Sunday afternoon at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex.
KU improved to 5-7 overall, and picked up its first conference win to go to 1-3 in league play. The Longhorns drop to 7-3-2 overall and 0-2-1 in the Big 12. The win was KU’s first over Texas since 2005, and just the second over the Longhorns in the 15-year history of the Jayhawk soccer program.
Neither team could muster much offense Sunday, but it was KU which finally broke through in the 65th minute. After a scramble in front of the Texas net, freshman Caroline Kastor hit senior Erin Ellefson with a pass on
the near side of the box, and Ellefson’s shot ricocheted off Texas goalkeeper Alexa Gaul. The ball came off toward the far side of the box where Cressy finished with her right foot to give the Jayhawks a 1-0 edge.
The Kansas defense led by seniors Lauren Jackson, Caitlin Noble and Geneva Magness as well as sophomore Shelby Williamson made the goal stand up. The Jayhawks posted their fourth shutout of the season, holding Texas to just 12 shots and four shots on goal. Liebetrau took care of all four attempts on the Kansas net routinely to pick up her fourth shutout of the season.
While the match was a defensive battle, the Jayhawks produced decidedly better chances. In the 16th minute, sophomore Whitney Berry found space in the attacking third and beat the Texas goalkeeper to the near side, however Berry’s shot hit the post and bounced out.
Texas recorded 12 shots to KU’s 10, however many of the Longhorn’s chances came in the second half when they had pushed players forward to try to score the equalizer. The Longhorn’s best chance came just after halftime when UT recorded three corner kicks in a five-minute span, but could only muster one shot on goal and a shot attempt which was blocked by the defense.
Berry and Jackson combined to record five of KU’s 10 shots.
The match was KU’s annual “Jayhawks for a Cure” contest as the team wore pink warm up tops and took donations to help support the fight against breast cancer.
The Jayhawks will continue their homestand next Friday when they take on Oklahoma State at 4 p.m. at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex.
Postgame Quotes
Kansas 1, Texas 0
Oct. 3, 2010 – Lawrence, Kan.
Kansas Head Coach Mark Francis
On the weekend:
“I thought we played really well today. Texas is a good team; they’ve beaten some really good teams this year. I was happy that we put together a consistent performance for 90 minutes, and I thought the kids competed really well today. We didn’t back off the whole time today. That was probably the biggest thing today.”
On the game plan against Texas:
“Our game plan today worked well. We sat back, and let them have the ball in there, but once they came up to our line of pressure we tried to pressure the ball and force them to turn it over. That seemed to work pretty well. We did a good job of staying disciplined and sticking to the game plan.”
Kansas sophomore forward Whitney Berry
On the win over Texas:
“This is only the second time that we’ve ever beaten Texas, so I’m really excited to be a part of that.”
On what the team needs to do to keep its momentum:
“We just need to keep up the intensity. We had a great weekend on both sides, even though we lost on Friday it was still a great game. I think if we just continue to play at this level, we’ll be good.”
On hitting the post twice this weekend:
“I just have to keep working at it. We were a little unlucky with the post; we hit that a number of times this weekend. But we’re going to get them.”
