Via Kansas Athletics
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kansas soccer won its seventh consecutive match and advanced to the Big 12 Championship game with a 2-1 win against No. 17 Texas Tech in the semifinals of the conference tournament at CPKC Stadium on Wednesday. Raena Knust and Olivia Page scored the goals for Kansas in the victory.
Kansas improved to 12-5-4 this season and has its longest winning streak since 2014. The Jayhawks will play in the championship match for the first time since the 2019 season. The No. 6-seeded Jayhawks will now play the No. 1-seeded TCU (ranked 6th nationally) on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. CT.
“So happy, proud and relieved right now,” head coach Nate Lie said. “The last half-hour was as much under siege as I’ve seen a team I’ve coached in a moment that important and pressure filled. We found a way. We talked about it at halftime. We found a way to get the result to make it to the finish line. That is an excellent, excellent Texas Tech team. I think for who we’ve played this year, it’s the best team we have played. I think they can make a lot of noise in the NCAA Tournament.”
Lie continued, “Soccer is a team sport. It’s one of the reasons that I think it’s so special. It’s one of the things that attracts me to this profession. You ask players to buy into something bigger – that it’s not just about a win here, or a loss, or executing a play or being a great soccer player. It’s about investing in other people and a process and you just never know if you’re going to get a payoff, when you’re going to get a payoff or how you’re going to get a payoff. This last week or so is a lot of the reason that we all do this. Raena and Liv, we continue to find players that find special moments…if you’re fortunate enough to go along one of these journeys, definitely the way we’re constructed, it’s going to be a different player every game that becomes the hero. Incredibly proud of the team.”
Each team had its opportunities in the first half and that started with Texas Tech. The Red Raiders were on the attack at the beginning of the contest and had a great opportunity with a shot from in the middle of the box. Kansas goalkeeper Sophie Dawe was able to block it over the net to keep the game scoreless. Dawe finished with four saves.
The Jayhawks waited for their opportunity and that came in the 41st minute. Kansas took a corner kick that created chaos in the box. Jocelyn Herrema had a point-blank shot that was saved by the Texas Tech goalkeeper. The rebound went to Knust who put the shot inside the far post. The goal gave Kansas a 1-0 lead that would hold until halftime.
“Honestly, on my goal I kind of blacked out,” Knust said. “I saw the ball and Nate does a really good job of telling us to move forward. In my head, I was like move forward, get the ball. No matter if it goes in just progress it forward because maybe someone else can knock it in.”
Shortly into the second half, the Jayhawks were able to get a second goal on a set piece. All-Big 12 First Team selection Caroline Castans served a corner into the box that Page was able to direct into the top right corner of the net in the 50th minute. That gave Kansas a 2-0 lead with just over 40 minutes to go.
“Growing up in club and high school, corners have been one of my favorite things to do,” Page said. “Try my best to get my head on the end of those balls. Coach talks about being brave and so in that situation I was just brave and my head got there first and it went in.”
Texas Tech found its way on the scoreboard in the 64th minute. Elise Anderson made a pass into the box for a cutting Ashleigh Williams who settled the ball and put it in the back of the net. The score made it a 2-1 Kansas lead.
The Red Raiders fought down the stretch, but Kansas was able to close out the game and hold its 2-1 lead. Texas Tech had a 17-11 advantage on shots, but it was tied 6-6 for shots on target. Kansas held a 7-6 edge on corner kicks. Texas Tech fell to 14-4-2 on the season.
NOTES
• Kansas extended its win streak to seven consecutive matches. That is tied for the fourth-longest winning streak in the country. The last time Kansas won at least seven matches in a row was Aug. 22-Sept. 14, 2014, when Kansas won eight straight to start the season.
• Kansas will play in the championship of the conference tournament for the first time since 2019. Kansas won the tournament that year for the first time in program history.
• Kansas is one of four Division I programs with at least nine road/neutral wins this season.
• Kansas has outscored opponents 15-3 during the seven-match winning streak.
• Kansas earned its 12th win of the season. The last time Kansas had double-digit wins was 2019 (17).
• Kansas improved to 11-14-5 all-time in the Big 12 Championship.
• Kansas is now 5-3-2 as a No. 6 seed in the Big 12 Championship.
• Knust scored her second goal of the season.
• Page scored her first goal of the season and the second of her career.
• Castans recorded her sixth assist on the season.
UP NEXT
Kansas advances to the championship game of the Sprouts Farmers Market Big 12 Soccer Championship to play No. 6 TCU on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. CT. The game will be played at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City and fans can purchase tickets by clicking here.
