⚽️ Elinav Scores Twice in 3-1 Win Against Drake

DES MOINES, Iowa — Kansas won its third straight game on Sunday afternoon against Drake by a score of 3-1 at Drake Stadium. Junior forward Shira Elinav scored two goals marking her first career multi-goal game.

“I think it was a good performance,” Head Coach Mark Francis said. “The surface was definitely challenging, but I thought we handled it as well as we could. We had a lot of girls come off the bench today and give us minutes. It was a really good overall performance from the group and it was nice to score more than one goal.”

The Jayhawks jumped out to an early 1-0 lead. In the 10th minute, a ball deflected into the center of the box and Elinav was able to put it past the goalkeeper and into the back of the net.

The lead would build to 2-0 before the half when freshman defender Assa Kante scored her first career goal on an assist from sophomore midfielder Olivia Winter in the 35th minute. The play developed on a set piece off a corner kick when Winter dribbled the ball and sent it into the middle of the box.

Elinav would go on to score her second goal in the 57th minute of the match to extend the score to 3-0. Freshman forward Saige Wimes was able to control a bouncing ball on the turf and pass it to Elinav who snuck it just past the Drake goalkeeper. Wimes was credited with her first career assist.

Drake would add a goal in the 61st minute on a corner kick that deflected off the crossbar and found its way into the net off the foot of Emma Nagel.

Kansas had a 15-6 advantage on shots, including 7-3 on shots on goal, and a 6-4 edge on corner kicks. KU improved to 3-1 on the season, while Drake fell to 1-3.

Kansas has now won three consecutive games for the first time since winning the first three matches of the 2020-21 season (Sept. 11 – Oct. 2, 2020).

Kansas (3-1) will return home to play Purdue on Thursday (Sept. 1). Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CT at Rock Chalk Park and the match will be broadcast on Big 12 NOW on ESPN+ and the Jayhawk Sports Network. Fans can purchase KU Soccer tickets by contacting the Kansas ticket office at 785-864-3141 or by visiting the ticketing page here.