Gregorski’s Hat Trick Leads Kansas to 5-1 Victory Against Friends

Sunday, September 15

Lawrence, Kan.

01:00 PM

University of Kansas

3-2-3, 0-1-0

Friends University

3-2-0, 0-0-0

Friends

Kansas

Gregorski’s Hat Trick Leads Kansas to 5-1 Victory Against Friends

9/15/2024 4:41:00 PM | Women's Soccer

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LAWRENCE, Kan. – Freshman Jillian Gregorski recorded the 11th hat trick in program history as Kansas defeated Friends University by a score of 5-1 on Sunday afternoon at Rock Chalk Park. Gregorski's hat trick was the first by a Kansas player since 2019 and the second ever by a freshman.

"We needed a game where we saw the ball hit the back of the net," head coach Nate Lie said. "Kudos to Jill for finding her hat trick and Lexi for finding her first of the season. I thought that starting group was pretty sharp. I think we scored five goals in about 20 minutes. I think we scored three in the first 13 (minutes) in the first half and two in the first eight (minutes) in the second half. I thought that group came out and attacked this game as they should and kudos to them. I think we have to keep that level higher for longer…It was good to get a lot of people experience. I think a lot of people took those minutes well. We want to continue to expand our depth. All in all, I think we came out healthy and it was a solid day.

Kansas (3-2-3) did not waste any time on Sunday afternoon. The Jayhawks put two goals in the back of the net in the third minute of the match. Gregorski started the scoring for Kansas as Watts gave a pass to sophomore Caroline Castans who crossed it into the middle of the box and found Gregorski's right foot.

Only 35 second later, junior Lexi Watts found herself in the right place at the right time. A blocked shot made it to Watts in the middle of the box who was able to put it in the right corner of the net. That gave Kansas a 2-0 lead less than three minutes into the match.

In the 14th minute, Kansas was able to extend its lead to 3-0. Gregorski scored her second of the match in a similar way as freshman Kate Langfelder crossed the ball into the middle of the box and Gregorski finished it into the top right corner of the net.

Friends (3-2-0) was able to score its lone goal in the 24th minute. Keily Larosee scored a penalty kick to make it a 3-1 game.

At the half, Kansas led 3-1 with a 16-1 advantage on shots and a 9-1 edge for shots on goal.

The Jayhawks came out of the locker room in the second half and scored a pair of goals in the first eight minutes of the period. Gregorski completed her hat trick in the 49th minute as she was waiting at the back post and tapped in a pass from Langfelder.

"Our motivation today was to go out and do everything that we have talked about and have been training to try and get some results and goals," Gregorski said. "It was nice to help the team in that aspect and get a win."

Kansas added another goal four minutes later in the 53rd minute. Castans sent a cross into the box that Watts shot towards the goal and was redirected off the head of redshirt sophomore Saige Wimes. The goal gave Kansas a 5-1 lead and that is where the game ended.

KU held a 26-1 advantage on shots, including 17-1 in shots on goal. The Jayhawks also had 12 corner kicks compared to none for Friends. The one shot by Friends matched the fewest shots by an opponent in program history.

NOTES
• Gregorski recorded her first career hat trick and the 11th in program history (ninth player). The hat trick was only the second ever by a freshman after Monica Brothers had the first hat trick in school history her freshman year on Sept. 30, 2001 vs. Oklahoma State. The last Kansas player to have a hat trick was Katie McClure on Nov. 22, 2019 vs. Xavier in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
• Kansas tied a program record with only one shot allowed (Aug. 18, 2024 at Drake, Aug. 31, 2003 vs. Evansville and Sept. 27, 1998 vs. Western Illinois).
• Watts scored her first goal of the season and had her second career multi-assist game (Sept. 30, 2022 at West Virginia). Her four points matched a career high (Oct. 27, 2022 vs. Iowa State).
• Wimes scored her second goal of the season.
• Castans finished with a career-high two assists. She also tied her career high with two points.
• Langfelder tallied her first two career assists.

UP NEXT
Kansas will hit the road for a pair of conference games, beginning with Cincinnati on Thursday, Sept. 19 at 6 p.m. CT. Following that game, the Jayhawks will play at West Virginia on Sept. 22 at 12 p.m. CT.