Lubbock, Texas ? Texas Tech earned its first Big 12 Conference soccer victory in almost three years Sunday when the Red Raiders knocked off No. 19 Kansas, 3-2, at R.P. Fuller Stadium.
“This was a big win,” said coach Felix Oskam, whose team was coming off a 6-0 loss at Oklahoma State. “We showed a lot of character after what happened to us on Friday night.”
Kansas (9-2 overall, 1-1 league) had its share of injuries. Defender Maggie Mason and midfielder Gabriela Quiggle did not play after being injured in Friday’s 1-0 overtime victory over Baylor. Forward Caroline Smith, the team’s top scorer, also was hurt in that game and did not start Sunday.
“Due to some injuries, we were forced to move some people around in today’s game,” KU coach Mark Francis said. “We still had some chances and opportunities, but did not use them.”
Tech (2-5-1, 1-1) struck first, when Catie Arsenault scored on a break-away 13 minutes and 56 seconds in after being assisted by Kim Warren.
Kansas evened the score at the 32:41 mark when Jessica Kilpatrick scored on a deflection from 10 yards out.
The Jayhawks took a 2-1 lead shortly after the intermission when Michelle Rasmussen scored with an assist from Stacy Leeper.
Tech’s Jordan Wicker tied the score when she struck from the far-right corner (59:38) on a pass from Kerri Campbell. Warren scored the go-ahead goal at the 72:13 mark on an assist from Arsenault.
Tech hadn’t won a Big 12 game since defeating Oklahoma State Oct. 1, 2000.
“We made some mistakes down the stretch, and they made us pay for them,” Francis said. “We just couldn’t connect on the other end with the chances that we had.”
The Jayhawks will play host to No. 16 Texas at 5 p.m. Friday.
