NASHVILLE, Tenn. – On Thursday night at Vanderbilt Soccer Complex, the Kansas Jayhawks and Vanderbilt Commodores played to a 0-0 draw. The defensive shutout was the second of the season by Kansas.
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"I thought we were disappointing in the first half," head coach Nate Lie said. "Vanderbilt is a really talented team and very good on the ball. A lot of skill and a lot of players that have flair and personality…I thought we played a little bit scared and thought we were on the back foot. We didn't really execute anything that we had intended with our game plan."
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Lie continued, "I told the team that at halftime and I thought we responded with a great, really impressive second half. That was 45 minutes of gritty, unified and selfless work…we absolutely got on the front foot and created four or five point-blank chances. I couldn't ask for more from the team. It's a getting a little frustrating that we're generating these chances and not finding the back of the net, but maybe we'll save them for conference play next week."
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The first half was filled with a lot of possession between the two 18-yard boxes. Neither team had many quality opportunities, with Vanderbilt leading 4-3 on shots going into the break. The game was tied 0-0 at halftime.
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Kansas controlled a majority of the second half, highlighted by a 10-3 advantage on shots. Two of those shots went off the right post. In the 78th minute, junior
Lexi Watts had a breakaway that ended up going off the post. Then, in the 86th minute redshirt sophomore
Saige Wimes got behind the defense and had a shot that hit the back post.
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The Jayhawks led 13-7 on shots in the match. Sophomore
Jocelyn Herrema had a team-high three shots.
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Kansas moved to 2-1-3 on the season, while Vanderbilt went to 3-0-2 on the year. The Jayhawks are 2-0-1 on the road this season.
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NOTES
• Kansas and Vanderbilt have played to a draw in back-to-back seasons. The record in the all-time series is 0-0-2.
• Kansas has played a scoreless first half in each of the last three matches.
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UP NEXT
Kansas will be back in action next Thursday, Sept. 12 in the Big 12 Conference opener. The Jayhawks will host Iowa State at 6 p.m. CT and the match will be broadcast on ESPN+.
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Tickets can be purchased
here or by calling the Kansas ticket office at 785-864-3141. Tickets will also be available to purchase at the ticket window at Rock Chalk Park, beginning one hour prior to kickoff.
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