Jayhawks prevail in OT, Francis reaches milestone
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Eva Eliasdottir’s golden goal in the second minute of overtime not only handed the Jayhawks their third-straight victory, also gave head coach Mark Francis his 250th-collegiate win as Kansas downed the TCU Horned Frogs, 2-1, Friday night at Rock Chalk Park. It marked KU’s third overtime win of the season and moved the Jayhawks to 8-1-0 on their home pitch.
With the win, Kansas improved to 10-2-2 overall and moved into second place in the Big 12 with a 4-1-0 record. TCU fell to 9-4-2 in the 2018 season and dropped to 2-3-1 in league play.
The win also gave Francis his 250th in 23 seasons as a collegiate head coach. Francis’ overall record now stands at 250-184-34 and he is 217-159-33 in 20 years as Kansas’ head man.
Grace Hagan’s goal in the 31st minute put the Jayhawks up early on the scoreboard, 1-0. A loose ball on the TCU end line was gobbled up by the senior forward before she slotted inside the near post to put her team ahead first. Her fifth goal of 2018 moved the Wichita native into a four-way-tie for fifth place on the career goals scored list, currently at 23.
The Jayhawk lead was short-lived though as TCU tied up the match less than seven minutes later. Freshman Maddy Warren sent in her sixth goal of the year with a strike from 30 yards out to pull her team level before halftime.
After a hard-fought 45 minutes in the second half, the two teams headed to overtime, still tied at 1-1. For the Jayhawks, their fifth extra time match of the season would end on a high night as Eliasdottir’s golden goal handed KU the win less than two minutes into the first overtime period.
Junior Elise Reina connected with her fellow defender on a short cross to the far post. There Eliasdottir, headed into the ground where it bounced once and into the back of the TCU net. It was Eliasdottir’s first goal of the season, the second of her career and handed the Jayhawks their third overtime win of 2018.
Much like the 92+ minutes of play itself, nearly every category on the stat sheet was identical between the two teams. KU bested TCU in shots, 14-11 and saves, 3-2. Meanwhile, TCU had the upper hand in corner kicks, 6-4 and fouls, 7-6.
For the 14th time in 2018, freshman Sarah Peters played all 90 minutes between the posts for the Jayhawks, ending the evening with three saves on the 14 Horned Frogs shots she faced, upping her single-season save total to 28.
QUOTES
Head Coach Mark Francis
On what his 250 win milestone means to him:
“I’m more excited about the fact that we won and that we’re 4-1 in the Big 12 now. It’s cool, I’ve just been around for a long time. That’s what it really means. 250–I guess that is a lot.”
On the back-and-forth competition of the match:
“Whichever team lost that game, it was going to be a travesty. It was just a great game of soccer. Anyone who was watching on TV saw a great representation of our conference.”
Junior defender Eva Eliasdottir
On what her first goal of the season meant to her
“Honestly it means a lot. I was a forward at home, so I am used to scoring goals. Here I don’t score goals. So, it means a lot and it opens up the door for me to be more aggressive in the box and more confident.”
On her expectations coming into the game on offense
“The wingbacks are supposed to be a part of the attack. That doesn’t necessarily mean that I expected to score tonight, but we have been working on assists and passing into the box. So, I already had that in my mind but not scoring a goal.”
NOTABLES
- Heading into Friday night’s match at Rock Chalk Park, the series between Kansas and TCU was dead even at 3-3-2. Of those previous eight meetings on the soccer pitch, seven were decided by a goal or less. With a lone goal being the deciding factor once again tonight, the Jayhawks take over the all-time series lead with a 4-3-2 record.
- TCU’s goal in the 39th minute ended a 242-minute shutout streak by the Jayhawks. It was KU’s second-longest such streak of the season, following a 354-minute scoreless defensive effort in the first four matches of the season.
- The two Big 12 foes headed to the locker rooms at halftime knotted up at one goal apiece. With the win, the Jayhawks’ overall record when tied with their opponents at half improved to 5-1-1 and evened their Big 12 record at 1-1-0.
- The Jayhawks competed in their fifth overtime of the season. KU’s 2-1 OT victory gave the team a 3-0-2 record in those matches, inching closer to the team’s all-time record. The most overtimes KU has played in a single season was six, three different times: 2007, 2015 and 2016.
- Kansas has been nearly impossible to beat when playing on its home pitch in 2018. The Jayhawks are now 8-1-0 in their first nine outings at Rock Chalk Park during the 2018 season with just one home match remaining on the regular-season schedule (Texas Tech, Sunday, Oct. 14). That streak becomes more impressive every year in Lawrence, as KU is now 30-13-2 in matches played at home during the regular season since the beginning of the 2014 campaign.
- Senior F Grace Hagan’s goal in the 31st minute put the Jayhawks up on the Horned Frogs of TCU, 1-0. Her fifth goal of the 2018 season moved the Wichita native into a four-way-tie for fifth place on the career goals scored list, currently at 23.
- With her three shots on the night, Hagan increased her career shot total to 160 and moved her past Caroline Kastor (159, 2010-13) into seventh place.
- In scoring the match’s first goal, Kansas is now 7-0-1 overall this season when netting the game’s first goal. Since 2012, the Jayhawks are 63-2-8 in matches when the score first.
UP NEXT
The Jayhawks will host their final home match of the regular season when the Texas Tech Red Raiders come to town for a Sunday afternoon battle scheduled for 1 p.m., on Oct. 14. The game will serve as the final home match for Jayhawks Lauren Breshears, Taylor Christie, Anna Courtney, Grace Hagan, Miriam Melugin and Kaycie Young. The Senior Day match will be televised on ESPN+.
FOLLOW
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