KU soccer holds No. 2 Florida State to 1-1 draw at Rock Chalk Park

By Joseph Myers, Special to the Journal-World Aug 28, 2025

Teammates run over to join Kansas freshman Mary Sola and senior Lexi Watts as they celebrate Sola's goal against Florida State on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in Lawrence.

For 90 minutes Thursday night at Rock Chalk Park, the Kansas women’s soccer team went toe to toe with one of the top programs in the country.

When the final whistle sounded, the Jayhawks had earned a hard-fought 1-1 tie against No. 2 Florida State in front of a crowd of 2,108, the third-largest attendance in KU program history.

“Just very, very proud of our team,” head coach Nate Lie told reporters postgame. “I can be tough on them, maybe a harsh critic at times, but as I just told them, it’s because we have these (kinds) of performances in us.”

Florida State (2-0-1) came into Thursday’s match unbeaten in its last 12 contests dating back to last season and having outscored its opponents, 7-0, so far this year, but it was Kansas (3-0-2) that had the majority of the scoring chances in the match, outshooting the Seminoles, 14-8, including 8-3 in the opening half.

“I’m not one to celebrate a tie,” Lie said. “What I’m proud of is I don’t think (our players) celebrated a tie. I think they’re content with it because we just went up against the best, but I think more than anything, they’re just proud of what we did together.”

Kansas applied pressure early, but Florida State got on the scoreboard first. Jordynn Dudley took a pass on the left wing, got past a pair of Kansas defenders and fired a shot into the left side of the net to give the Seminoles a 1-0 lead 12 minutes and 46 seconds into the match.

After FSU took the lead, Kansas had a pair of corner kicks in the 16th minute and volleyed a shot just over the top of the net and had another header off a corner kick in the 23rd minute, but Seminole goalie Addie Todd made the save to keep Florida State on top.

Kansas finally found an equalizer at 25:37, when Jordan Rowan fired a shot on goal that Todd parried, but the ensuing rebound fell right at the feet of freshman Mary Sola – who had just entered the match as a substitute – and Sola blasted a shot into the top right corner of the net for her first career goal to tie the match at 1.

The Jayhawk defense stood tall for the rest of the first half, harassing the Florida State forwards and not allowing the Seminoles any offensive chances, as the match went into halftime tied at 1.

Kansas almost took the lead in the 48th minute, as Saige Wimes had a one-on-one opportunity against Todd, but Todd made the save to keep the match tied. Later in the half, Florida State’s Wrianna Hudson had the Seminoles’ best scoring opportunity of the half and she took a shot from wihin the penalty area, but Kansas goalie Sophie Dawe knocked it away for one of her three saves on the night.

Kansas had one final chance to potentially win the match in the 85th minute, when Lydia Viets sent a cross into the penalty area to Wimes, but Todd again stood tall and stopped Wimes’ shot to keep the match tied and force the teams to settle for a draw.

The match was a physical affair throughout, with 20 fouls called (11 on Kansas, nine on Florida State) and five yellow cards handed out, three to Florida State and two to Kansas.

Wimes and Kate Langfelder led Kansas with three shots apiece and the trio of Lexi Watts, Jordan Rowan and Jillian Gregorski had two shots apiece for the Jayhawks. Dudley (three) and Hudson (two) combined for five of Florida State’s eight shots.

“We heard some people nationally talk about this game and they kind of laughed it off and probably said it’s going to be a tough night for the Jayhawks,” Lie said, “but we believed and that’s the most important part.”

Kansas returns to the pitch on Sunday afternoon, when the Jayhawks host Drake (2-1-2) in another non-conference match. The Bulldogs also were in action Thursday, winning 2-0 at SIU Edwardsville. Kickoff for Sunday’s match at Rock Chalk Park is scheduled for 6 p.m.

“Thank you so much to everyone who showed up,” Lie said of Thursday’s crowd. “It made a world of difference. We needed to find extra effort energy to compete with this team, and we had some internal — tons of credit to our players — but I think we also got it from the crowd.”

Sports Editor Henry Greenstein contributed to this report.

Kansas defender Jordan Fjelstad dribbles forward in the second half of Kansas’ game against Florida State on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in Lawrence.

Kansas senior forward Lexi Watts dribbles forward in the second half of Kansas’ game against Florida State on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in Lawrence.

Kansas junior Saige Wimes evades Florida State players in the second half of Kansas’ game against Florida State on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in Lawrence.

Kansas fans and players cheer for a save by goalkeeper Sophie Dawe in the second half of Kansas’ game against Florida State on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in Lawrence.

Kansas freshman Lydia Viets passes to a teammate in the second half of Kansas’ game against Florida State on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in Lawrence.

Kansas junior midfielder Livvy Moore chases the ball in the second half of Kansas’ game against Florida State on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in Lawrence.

Kansas freshman Lydia Viets passes to a teammate during the match against Florida State at Rock Chalk Park on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025.

Kansas junior Livvy Moore dribbles the ball in the first half against Florida State at Rock Chalk Park on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025.

Kansas freshman Mary Sola and senior Lexi Watts celebrate Sola’s goal against Florida State on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in Lawrence.

Kansas freshman Mary Sola and senior Lexi Watts celebrate Sola’s goal against Florida State on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in Lawrence.

Kansas senior Lexi Watts watches the ball in the first half against Florida State on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025.

Big Jay interacts with children as Kansas kicks off against Florida State at Rock Chalk Park on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025.

Kansas fans fill the stands at Rock Chalk Park to cheer on the Kansas soccer team against Florida State on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. The announced attendance of 2,108 was third-largest in program history.