Yearout’s Goal Lifts Jayhawks to 2-1 Win Over Jackrabbits

Kansas 2, South Dakota State 1
Fishback Soccer Park // Brookings, S.D.
Courtney Dickerson scored her second goal of the
season 1:02 minutes into the game Friday.
1st 2nd Final
Kansas 1 1 2
South Dakota State 0 1 1
Scoring
KU 2′ Courtney Dickerson (Salazar)
SDSU 52′ Shelby Raper (Kingston)
KU 75′ Haley Yearout (unassisted)
Goalkeepers Min GA Sv
SDSU Nicole Inskeep 90:00 2 6
KU Kaitlyn Stroud 90:00 1 3
Stats at a Glance KU SDSU
Shots 16 8
Shots on Goal 8 4
Saves 3 6
Offsides 4 1
Corner Kicks 4 6
Fouls 6 4
Yellow Cards 0 0
Red Cards 0 0

Box Score (PDF)

BROOKINGS, S.D. – Junior defender Haley Yearout put in her first career goal in the 75th minute to help the Kansas Jayhawks to a 2-1 win over the South Dakota State Jackrabbits Friday night inside Fishback Soccer Park. Sophomore Courtney Dickerson also added her second goal of the season as the Jayhawks snapped a three-game losing streak.
 
The win elevated the Jayhawks to 4-4-1 on the season, while the Jackrabbits fell to 4-3-2 in 2013 and snapped their six-game unbeaten streak.
 
“I thought offensively we did a much better job than we’ve been doing,” said head coach Mark Francis. “Our movement was better. Our final passes were better. There were a lot of positives to take away from this game. We definitely need to try and use the momentum from today moving forward because I know the girls are excited about getting back into the win column.”
 
After enduring a scoring drought in its last 370 minutes of play, the Kansas offense wasted almost no time in getting on the board Friday night. Just over a minute into the match, sophomore Liana Salazar received the ball near midfield and began dribbling into Jackrabbit territory. The midfielder then played a long cross that was angling toward the far post of the SDSU goal. The pass found the foot of the sprinting KU forward, Dickerson, just 10 yards in front of the net. Dickerson corralled the ball with one touch and sent it in past the Jackrabbit keeper to put the Jayhawks up 1-0 just 62 seconds into the game.
 
The goal was the second of the season for the Peculiar, Mo., native and marked the first assist of the year for Salazar.
 
The Jayhawks played dominant soccer over the next 44 minutes of the opening half, controlling possession and creating attacking opportunities that made life difficult for the opposing defense. Kansas outshot the home time by a 9-4 margin in the first half, which included a 5-2 advantage in shots on goal.
 
KU began the second period as it had played the first, controlling the run of play and sending the ball up to its attacking forwards several times in the first 5 minutes of the second frame. However, the Jackrabbits hit the Jayhawks with a counterpunch in the early minutes of the half that changed the match.
 
SDSU’s front line caught the Kansas defense off guard in the 52nd minute when Megan Kingston found the foot of Shelby Raper after a cross into the KU box. Raper sliced in the on-point cross over Kansas goalkeeper Kaitlyn Stroud to knot up the score and put Kansas in jeopardy of seeing its fifth-consecutive game go by without a win.
 
Both teams amassed attacks over the next 20 minutes but none were able to gain the advantage until Yearout changed the Jayhawks’ fortunes in the 75 minute of action.
 
With Kansas on the attack, freshman and long-throw specialist Ashley Pankey lined up a throw-in near the SDSU goal that was quickly cleared out by a Jackrabbit defender. However the ball rolled to the feet of Yearout, who, after a few touches sent in a right-footed strike from 25 yards out that sailed over the SDSU keeper’s outstretched arm and into the back of the net.
 
The goal marked the first of the Overland Park, Kan., native’s career and gave Kansas the all-important lead heading into the final 15 minutes of play.
 
After several frantic but failed attempts by the Jackrabbits to net the equalizer, the full time whistle blew and signaled the Jayhawk’s fourth win of the season.
 
Leading Kansas on the stat sheet was sophomore Ashley Williams, who tied her career high with five shots on the night, two of which were on goal. The KU keeper Stroud posted three saves on the night and garnered her fourth win in goal for the Jayhawks this season. Stroud’s 15 career wins as the KU keeper is fifth-most in school history.
 
KU outshot its opponent for the seventh time this season, turning in a 16-8 shot tally against the Jackrabbits. The Jayhawks also saw the fifth game this season which they posted eight or more shots on frame.
 
Kansas will return home to Lawrence on Sunday, Sept. 22 to host the Illinois State Redbirds in their final non-conference home game of the season. Kickoff from the Jayhawk Soccer Complex is slated for 1 p.m.
 
 
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