The 17th-ranked Kansas women’s soccer team showed its mettle Sunday afternoon at Rock Chalk Park, scoring twice in the final 24 minutes and getting a penalty-kick save from keeper Sophie Dawe to earn a hard-fought, come-from-behind 2-1 win over Tulsa.
“What a crazy match,” KU coach Nate Lie said. “It was a typical Sunday match where it’s a little sloppier and a little more disjointed. Two teams battling in this crazy heat, both coming off tough Thursday matches. Huge credit to Tulsa. I told the team at halftime that they were dealing with the elements and the heat as well. (Tulsa) looked fresher, faster, and hungrier, which isn’t acceptable.
“But our team got on the front foot early in the second half, really started pushing the tempo and really started creating chances.”
KU matched a school record for shots in a single match with 36, one that dated back to Aug. 26, 2005, against Michigan.
“We have to be more clinical with them,” Lie said. “We can’t mess around … Some of them were low quality and didn’t need to do it. A lot of them were pretty high quality, too.
“We left the game in the balance way too long. We conceded a penalty with eight minutes left, and (Dawe) saved us. Their kid took it pretty well, and she made (Dawe) make a save and it easily could’ve deflected into the goal. So, (Dawe) saved us, and then great job by the team. Then, (Livvy Moore) played a beautiful ball into dangerous space and (Norah Jacomen) finishing it.”
Jacomen’s goal at 83 minutes, 38 seconds came on a header that bounced off the bottom of the crossbar and went straight down. Tulsa (3-2) tried to clear the ball off the goal line, but a video review confirmed that the ball did cross the line, making it a goal and giving KU a 2-1 lead. The match-winning goal came just 66 seconds after Dawe dove to her left to stop Krysten Kizer’s penalty kick, keeping the match tied 1-1 and giving the Jayhawks a huge momentum boost late in the match.
“I just picked a side and went,” said Dawe, who made three saves in the match. “It’s a situation where if you second-guess yourself, a lot of these girls are really good at changing their runs up. You just pick a side and go 100%.”
KU spent most of the match in the offensive third of the pitch, but Tulsa led 1-0 via a first-half goal until Marit McLaughlin scored her second goal of the season off assists from Jocelyn Herrema and Lydia Viets at 66:05 to tie the match at 1. The Jayhawks continued to apply offensive pressure in search of a match-winner, but the Golden Hurricanes’ Aniya Facien was fouled in the penalty box in the 83rd minute, setting up Dawe’s save and Jacomen’s late goal.
“It’s hard to overstate (the importance of winning Sunday),” Lie said. “At this time of year, we talk about process a lot. We try not to get too focused on results, but this was a day we needed a result. We dropped one that I don’t think we should have on Thursday (at Utah Valley). If we want to put ourselves in contention for having a good RPI and being in discussions for an at-large (NCAA Tournament bid), we couldn’t afford to give this one away.”
For the match, Kansas outshot Tulsa, 36-5, including 12-5 in shots on goal. The Jayhawks had 12 corner kicks to Tulsa’s two, and the Golden Hurricanes were whistled for 18 fouls compared to KU’s four. Ten Kansas players had at least two shots, led by Jillian Gregorski’s nine. It’s the most shots in a match by a KU player since Lexi Watts had nine shots in a 2024 match against Utah.
Kansas is back in action Thursday night, taking on Kansas City (0-3-1) in a nonconference match at Rock Chalk Park. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World
