Jayhawks soar past Kennesaw State, 3-1

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Senior Katie McClure scored a pair of goals to help the No. 14 ranked Jayhawks close out nonconference play with a victory, defeating Kennesaw State, 3-1, Sunday afternoon at Rock Chalk Park.

The win lifted the Jayhawks to 8-2-0 on the year, while Kennesaw State fell to 5-4-0 in its 2019 campaign. 

The Jayhawks came out ready to go, scoring at the 7:47 mark in the first half behind a Sophie Maierhofer goal from eight yards out after Ceri Holland found the senior in the center of the KSU box.

Kansas didn’t stop there, scoring less than ten minutes later, this time off the foot of McClure. The Wichita native got on the end of a loose ball in front of the Owl goal and sent in her eighth of the season to put the Jayhawks ahead 2-0. The score marked the 30th goal of McClure’s collegiate career.

Kansas was able to control the ball and carry their 2-0 lead heading into halftime.

The dominant KU offense carried the momentum into the second half as McClure again found the back of the net. Just under 12 minutes after the restart, she found space at the top of the Owl penalty box and let loose a strike the snuck inside the left post. The score marked her second-multi goal outing of the season and gave her team a three-goal advantage. 

The Owls managed to get on the board, with Cameryn Simmons scoring in the 74th minute, however it was too little, too late. The Jayhawks controlled the match from there and closed out the 3-1 victory. KU ended the match with a 19-5 advantage in shots, as well as a 7-2 edge in shots on goal. 

UP NEXT
The Jayhawks will kick off the 2019 Big 12 slate when they welcome the Texas Longhorns to Lawrence on Thursday, Sept. 26. The match will be televised on FS1, the first soccer match at Rock Chalk Park, to be broadcast nationally. KU and UT will kick off at 7 p.m., with Brenda Vanlengen (play-by-play) and Jessica Stamp (analyst) set to call the action.

56th Minute

Katie McClure hits in her second goal of the afternoon to bring the score up 3-0 against Kennesaw State.

Head Coach Mark Francis gives halftime interview.

18th minute

KU McClure scores her 8th goal of the season to put the Jayhawks ahead 2-0.