Jayhawks bounce back against Cyclones, 1-0
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Another goal in the waning moments of the match lifted the Kansas Jayhawks to a 1-0 victory over the Iowa State Cyclones Saturday night inside Rock Chalk Park. Sophomore midfielder Ceri Holland netted the first of the year in the 82nd minute to hand her team its eighth win of the year.
With the win, Kansas improved its record to 8-2-2 overall and put the Jayhawks back over .500 in league play at 2-1-0. Conversely, ISU fell to 2-9-2 for the 2018 season. The loss kept the Cyclones winless in Big 12 Conference play with a record of 0-2-1.
The first 45 minutes of action were played a snail’s pace, with neither squad managing much in the way of offense. The two teams combined for only six shots and nearly matched one another in every other statistical category. Kansas doubled up on Iowa State in the shots column in the first stanza, 4-2.
Kansas picked up the pace in the second half, doubling its first-half offensive output within the first 10 minutes after the restart. Kansas tallied 13 shots overall in the final 45 minutes and eight of those, came during the early minutes of the second frame.
As it appeared the Jayhawks were destined for their fifth overtime of the season, Holland saved the day with just eight minutes left in regulation. Senior forward Grace Hagan connected a pass to her sophomore teammate at the top of the Iowa State box, where she needed just one swift kick to send in her first goal of 2018 and the second of her Kansas career. The helper marked Hagan’s second assist of her senior season and 14th of her three-plus years donning the Crimson and Blue.
Kansas ended the match with yet another dominating outing in the shots column, holding a 17-4 edge over the visitors from Ames, as well as a 7-1 tally for shots on target.
Freshman goalkeeper Sarah Peters ended the evening with one save on the four Cyclones shots she faced, and recorded her sixth shutout of the year.
QUOTES
Head Coach Mark Francis
On capitalizing on offensive scoring opportunities:
“We are creating lots of chances. I thought in the second half we were much better. The first half we had a tough time breaking them down. We aren’t giving up much defensively, but we just got to be more efficient with the chances we do have.”
On the trend of better play in the second half:
“Our sense of urgency goes way up when we are down. So, we have to replicate that before we are down. That way our sense of urgency has to be there at the beginning of the game rather than waiting until we get down or the chips are down.”
On the road ahead:
“The next two weeks we don’t have to travel so to speak. So, I think we have to take advantage of these next three games being local and not having to travel. Because traveling, anybody in the Big 12 on the road is tough. So, we have to take advantage of not having to get on a plane here these next couple of weeks.”
Sophomore Midfielder Ceri Holland
On Iowa State:
“I think they put a lot of plays behind the ball and that’s never easy to break down. They made it pretty difficult for us, they pressed us pretty hard when we received the ball at midfield and forward positions. But I think we didn’t give any mistakes away tonight and that was key for us. I think that once we figured out that we were able to face up a little bit more and go forward and go at them I think that they really struggled when we had people dribbling at them, especially our forwards.”
On her goal:
“(My mentality was) probably just not to hit it too hard. I’ve heard that a lot lately so I just wanted to hit the frame. It was a great pass by Grace (Hagan) and I just wanted to hit the frame, basically.”
NOTABLES
- The two teams headed to the locker rooms at halftime scoreless, the seventh time this season that the Jayhawks were tied with their opponents after the opening 45 minutes of play. In the previous six contests when tied at half, KU had recorded a 4-1-1 record. The victory upped Kansas’ record, when tied at half in 2018, to 5-4-1.
- After dominating the series over the last 19 years, in which KU had won all but three contests, Saturday night’s win increased the Jayhawks’ lead in the all-time series to 19-5-1. Meanwhile, KU’s record vs. Iowa State is now nearly perfect at 10-1-0 in matches played in Lawrence, including a 3-0 streak at Rock Chalk Park (2014, 2016, 2018).
- The Jayhawks’ lone goal of the night resulted in their 10th out of 18 total on the season after the 60th minute of play.
- Kansas has been nearly impossible to beat when playing on its home pitch in 2018. The Jayhawks are now 7-1-0 in their first eight outings at Rock Chalk Park during the 2018 season with two home matches remaining on the regular-season schedule (TCU, Oct. 12 and Texas Tech, Oct. 14).
- Since the start of the 2016 season, Kansas is now 8-3-4 in contests that follow a loss, which includes a 2-0 record this season.
- Kansas head coach Mark Francis took another step closer to achieving 250-career wins at the head of a collegiate soccer program with his team besting its Big 12 foes from Ames Saturday night. At 248-184-34 in 23 seasons overall as a head coach, Francis now needs just needs two more victories to reach the coaching milestone for wins. In 20-plus seasons at KU, Francis has compiled a record of 215-159-33.
UP NEXT
KU will journey to in-state rival Kansas State for the second installment of the Dillons Sunflower Showdown on Friday, Oct. 6. The Jayhawks and Wildcats will kick off from K-State Soccer Complex at 7 p.m., on ESPN3.
FOLLOW
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