Apparently the competition for the award — given by the coaching staff following each game — was just that stiff in a game that saw the Jayhawks (5-1) collect their first win ever against an Atlantic Coast Conference team and first ever against the preseason No. 12-ranked Seminoles (1-4) in the Crimson and Blue Invitational.

Central Florida downed San Diego State 1-0 in double overtime in the first game.

The Kansas coaches ultimately gave the nod to goalkeeper Meghan Miller, who rebounded from an attention lapse that allowed Florida State’s Jez Ratliff to tie the game at 1-all and made three huge saves in the ensuing minutes.

“In the end it just came down to heart the last 15-20 minutes,” KU coach Mark Francis said of the game and the award. “We kicked into a different gear after we scored the second goal.

“I was really proud of them because I thought then we would (let down), but we kept going at ’em. We kept fighting and kept scraping.”

Fittingly, Miller passed the ceremonial jersey to her teammates and vowed to hang it in the locker room for them to share. It was easy to see why, too, considering any number of the Jayhawks could have garnered the award against the Seminoles.

First there’s Smith, whose three goals bumped her to the top of the KU career points list. Her first score, off of Jessica Smith’s long right-footed pass to the top of the box in the 33rd minute, put Kansas ahead 1-0. Her second, a chip shot over the charging keeper in the 70th minute, put the Jayhawks on top for good. The third came on a breakaway in the 85th minute and made history.

“This is a big win for us, and the career points thing is a cool bonus,” Smith said, “but I’m only a sophomore so it was probably gonna happen at some point.”

Scoring was the obvious key, but physical was the word of the day as 33 fouls and two yellow cards were divvied out. Kansas’ other Heart and Soul candidates were no stranger to contact either.

Freshman forward Michelle Rasmussen had to be a Heart and Soul candidate after playing at an exhaustive pace and coming within inches of a couple assists in her first career start. Freshman Holly Gault was high on the list because her bruising defensive play drove Florida State’s forwards nuts. Then there’s midfielder Lauren Williams, whose constant on-ball pressure kept Kansas in possession of the ball for most of the game.

“This team in particular, we’re really aggressive and just really tough and feisty,” Smith said. “It’s definitely our playing style. We’re pretty small but we get the job done.”

Kansas will play Central Florida (4-1) at Noon on Sunday in the final game of the Crimson and Blue Invitational. Florida State will play San Diego State (1-3) at 9:30 a.m.