The Houston Cougars picked up their first road conference win since joining the Big 12 this season, and Kansas found itself the unlucky team on the other end of the result.
KU more than tripled Houston’s total number of shots Sunday at Rock Chalk Park, with sophomore Maree Shinkle’s five shots for the Jayhawks equaling the total for all 19 of Houston’s field players. However, the Jayhawks gave up a pair of set-piece goals off free kicks by freshman midfielder Aryanna Jimison in the second half and lost 2-0 to fall to 3-6-6 (0-5-2 Big 12).
Jimison placed the ball right on the right foot of teammate Kyrsten Kizer at the near post for an assist in the 54th minute, then sliced it in herself off a bounce past a diving Melania Pasar just three minutes later. Houston needed to make those set pieces count, as it had zero corner kicks to the Jayhawks’ seven on the afternoon.
KU couldn’t convert on nine additional shots over the remainder of the game. Houston’s goalkeeper Olivia Dietrich was called upon for just one save during that period and totaled five overall.
The sophomore Shinkle, who is fifth on the team in minutes but had shot the ball just eight times combined in her 11 other appearances on the season, is still looking for her first career goal. Lexi Watts had three more shots Sunday but none went on target.
“We have to be better,” KU coach Mark Francis said in a news release. “You can’t have that many shots and not manage to put one in the back of the net. We had a couple that were wide open opportunities. Everyone has to be a little better so that we can collectively finish some of these opportunities and get some results.”
The Cougars’ only player with multiple shots was junior defender Anna Reysa.
KU, which was picked to finish eighth in the 14-team Big 12 prior to the season, has just three more chances to pick up a league win before the conference tournament starts on Oct. 28. The Jayhawks will travel to face Iowa State on Thursday; the Cyclones have lost all of their conference games except for a win over Houston.
Chance Parker/Journal-World photo
