No. 15 Kansas Defeats Utah State 2-0 in Season Opener

Wednesday, August 12

Lawrence, Kan.

7 p.m. CT

University of Kansas

1-0-0, 0-0-0

Utah State

0-1-0, 0-0-0

Team	1	2	Final F
Utah St.	0	0	0
Kansas	1	1	2

Photo by: Arun Halder/Kansas Athletics

No. 15 Kansas Defeats Utah State 2-0 in Season Opener

8/12/2026 10:54:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Season Stats Nate Lie Postgame Interview

LAWRENCE, Kan. - No. 15-ranked Kansas Soccer started off the season in the win column with a 2-0 victory over Utah State Wednesday evening at Rock Chalk Park. It is the third straight season opening win under head coach Nate Lie. Jillian Gregorski and Jordan Rowan each scored a goal to lead the Jayhawks.

"It was a hot one," Lie said. "The game was a little bit more choppy than probably either team would like, but I was very impressed by Utah State. They're super organized, really dangerous on the break, and they have some very good individual skill. Overall, I was happy with the performance."

Lie continued, "Jill's goal let us take a breath after a frantic opening and then Jordan's goal felt like it iced it, but we still had to see it out. That was really important to make those last seven to eight minutes feel a bit different. Both goals were quality. I'm taking this win and I told the team that I'm pretty happy with it."

Kansas (1-0) started the match off slow, as the Jayhawks couldn't find a shot until the 13-minute mark by Gregorski that was saved by the Utah State goalkeeper. It didn't take long for a shot to connect however, when Gregorski found a loose ball and put it into the net to score the first goal of the season, giving KU a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute.

The Jayhawks found a few more chances in the first half but couldn't find another goal, leading to a 1-0 halftime advantage. Kansas held a 7-2 advantage in shots and a 5-0 advantage in corner kicks at halftime.

Utah State (0-1) found their first chance early in the second half, as Austin Miller took an errant pass and took a shot from just inside midfield towards an open net. KU goalkeeper Sophie Dawe was able to put a hand on the ball, forcing a corner kick.

The teams tightened up on defense after the Aggies chance, with a total of seven shots coming in the next 30 minutes.

In the 84th minute, Marit McLaughlin found the ball and advanced it into the 18-yard box to Jocelyn Herrema who directed the ball to Rowan, where she struck the ball with her left foot past the keeper to give Kansas the 2-0 lead with six minutes to play.

The Jayhawks were able to hold off any counter attack by Utah State to close out the 2-0 win. Kansas held a 14-6 shot advantage in the game and drew nine corner kicks to just two Aggie corners.

NOTES

Kansas is now unbeaten in 11 straight non-conference matches, dating back to Sept. 1, 2024 vs. Gonzaga.
Kansas improved to 17-11-4 all-time in season openers, including 6-1-2 in the past eight seasons, and a 3-0 mark under Lie. The Jayhawks also moved to 6-4-3 in home openers at Rock Chalk Park.
Wednesday's match kicked off with a temperature of 96 degrees, making it the hottest match in Rock Chalk Park history.
Gregorski scored one goal, her first of the season. She has now scored the first KU goal in each of the last three seasons (2024, 2025, 2026).
Rowan scored her first goal of the season.
McLaughlin tallied her first assist of the season.
Herrema recorded her first assist of the season.

UP NEXT
Kansas will travel to Springfield, Missouri, to take on the Missouri State Bears in a Sunday afternoon clash. The match has been moved up to a 10:30 a.m. CT kickoff and will be broadcast on ESPN+.