Kansas Soccer Falls to Oklahoma, 1-0

NORMAN, Okla. – Oklahoma senior Renae Cuellar’s goal in the 22nd minute proved to be the difference as Kansas soccer was shut out by the Sooners, 1-0 Friday night inside John Crain Field.

The Jayhawks fall to 8-5-2 on the season and 2-3-0 in Big 12 play while the win lifts Oklahoma to 5-7-4 and 1-2-2 in the conference.

It was a frustrating night for the Kansas offense as the Jayhawks were unable to crack through the stingy OU defense despite controlling the possession for the majority of the match. KU outshot the Sooners 14-11 including an 11-5 clip in the second period but could not find the back of the OU net.

The Sooners got on the board when the forward, Cuellar, took control of a loose ball 12 yards from the KU goal. The Big 12’s second-leading scorer snuck the ball inside the top left corner of the Jayhawks’ goal, giving her team a lead it would not relinquish.

The Oklahoma defense, which collected their second shutout of the season, allowed just three KU shots in the opening half.

Senior goalkeeper Kat Liebetrau kept the Jayhawks in the game in the second half, punching out three OU corner kicks in a one minute span and keeping the Jayhawks within striking distance.

Junior forward Caroline Kastor had perhaps the best chance for the Kansas equalizer in the 86th minute as she was found on the end of an Amy Grow through ball down the middle of the field. Kastor was able to beat her defender but her shot sailed wide left, keeping Oklahoma on top in with just minutes to play.

Several late pushes down the field yielded no result for the Jayhawks, who lost their fifth game by one goal this season.

Senior Whitney Berry and Kastor led the squad with four shots apiece while Berry put two on frame. Liebetrau, who dropped to 5-2-2 in goal this season for KU, collected two saves and thwarted a handful of OU corner kicks in the final 45 minutes.

The Jayhawks will try to rebound as they will take on the Texas Longhorns Sunday at 1 p.m. in Austin, Texas. The game will be televised on the Longhorn Network with updates on twitter at KU_Soccer coming throughout the match.

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