⚽ Kansas Knocks Off No. 23 Baylor
LAWRENCE, Kan. — The Kansas women’s soccer team defeated No. 23 Baylor on Thursday night, 2-1 at Rock Chalk Park. The victory was the first in conference play for the Jayhawks this season.
“I thought tonight the mentality of our group was unbelievable,” said head coach Mark Francis. “I thought they did a fantastic job. When Baylor scored the goal, we didn’t panic and we just kept doing the same things we have been doing. It was a great mentality from the group. I’m really proud of them.”
Senior Rylan Childers scored the first goal of the match on a penalty kick in the 5th minute. The penalty kick came after sophomore Brie Severns was brought down by two defenders in the box. Sophomore Shira Elinav had a great through ball to Severns which led to a foot race before she was ultimately dragged down.
The second goal by the Jayhawks was scored in the 12th minute by Severns on a nearly identical play as the penalty. Elinav played a through ball from just before midfield and Severns was able to outrun the defense and put the ball in the right corner of the net. The Jayhawks would hold that 2-0 advantage going into the half.
Baylor was able to get on the board in the 81st minute to cut the lead to 2-1 with under 10 minutes remaining. The Jayhawks defense was able to hold for the remainder of the game to secure the win.
The victory was the first against a ranked opponent this season and first since KU took down No. 8 Oklahoma State on Oct. 16, 2020 at Rock Chalk Park. Kansas moved to 6-8-1 overall and 1-4 in Big 12 play, while Baylor fell to 7-3-3 this season and 3-1 in conference games.
Kansas will welcome another ranked team to Rock Chalk Park this weekend as No. 9 West Virginia comes to town. The game will be on Sunday, Oct. 10 at 1 p.m. CT. Fans can purchase tickets by clicking here. Sunday will be the Jayhawks mental health awareness game and they will welcome back a group of alumni to be honored at halftime. For those unable to attend, the match will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
