Photo courtesy of KU AthleticsIn addition to leading the Kansas soccer team to its first victory of the 2021 season — 2-0 over Saint Louis at Rock Chalk Park — KU goalkeeper Sarah Peters made a little history on Thursday night.
The shutout was the 28th of Peters’ KU career, tying the school record owned by Meghan Miller, who patrolled the net for Kansas from 2001-04.
In her latest shutout and second of the season, Peters, a senior from Lee’s Summit, Mo., turned away 11 SLU shots, including four that were on goal.
“It’s a blessing,” Peters said of tying the record after the victory. “I come into every game trying to get a shutout. The defense tonight was fully in support of the game and me and it showed on the field today.”
The Jayhawks (1-1-1) out-shot the Billikens (0-3-0) 12-11 in the match and, as it turned out, got all they needed to win in the game’s first minute. That’s when senior Rylan Childers scored just 51 seconds into the action to give KU a 1-0 lead.
Childers’ goal was the fifth fastest in program history and the fastest since Oct. 25, 2010, when former Jayhawk Caroline Kastor set the school record with a goal 18 seconds into KU’s match at Colorado.
KU added to its lead 29 minutes later, when Brie Severns finished a cross from senior Grace Wiltgen with a nifty header to put KU up 2-0.
“We wanted to press them,” KU coach Mark Francis said after the match. “That mentality was from the first whistle, force them to make mistakes and press the ball all over the field, especially up the field.”
Kansas will continue its homestand when it plays host to Iowa at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Rock Chalk Park.
