Jayhawks top Iowa State, secure No. 5 seed in Big 12 Championship
AMES, Iowa – A goal in each half from their top-two goal scorers pushed the No. 25 Kansas Jayhawks past Iowa State, 2-1, Thursday night at ISU Soccer Complex. The win secured the Jayhawks the No. 5 seed in the Big 12 Championship, where KU will take on No. 4 seed West Virginia in the quarterfinals on Sunday, Nov. 3 at 2 p.m., at Kansas City’s Swope Soccer Village.
The victory over the Cyclones saw the Jayhawks conclude the regular season at 12-4-3 and 4-2-3 in the Big 12. Iowa State’s season ended at 3-15-0 and 0-9-0 in the Big 12.
After the Jayhawks had a tough time breaking down the Iowa State backline, Senior Katie McClure finally managed to put her team on the board in the 37th minute. Kathryn Castro and Kailey Lane used a pair of pinpoint passes to find the senior in the mouth of the Cyclone goal, where McClure redirected the ball in the back of the net. The goal was McClure’s 13th of the season and the 35th of KU career.
After Kansas went to the locker room with the 1-0 lead, Ceri Holland put the Jayhawks up 2-0 just 15 minutes after the intermission. Holland uncorked a shot from the corner of ISU’s penalty box that slammed off the left post and in for the midfielder’s eighth goal of 2019.
Iowa State managed to cut the Jayhawk lead in half with a goal off the foot of Courtney Powell in the 77th minute, but the KU defense managed to withstand several late Cyclone attacks to preserve the 2-1 win.
KU ended the match outshooting the home side by a tally of 16-13, including a 6-4 advantage in shots on goal. The win extended the Jayhawks’ unbeaten streak to six games.
UP NEXT
The Jayhawks will kickoff the 2019 Big 12 Championship as the No. 5 seed on Sunday, Nov. 3 in the quarterfinals. KU will take on the fourth-seeded West Virginia Mountaineers at 2 p.m. at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Mo. The match will be streamed live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
