Originally published in the University Daily Kansan on Nov. 3, 2013
In the most crucial game of the season, the Jayhawks came through. The Kansas soccer team (7-10-2, 2-5-1) played its last regular season game Friday needing a win or a tie against Oklahoma (4-13-1, 1-7) to earn a spot in this week’s Big 12 Soccer Championship. Kansas earned a 2-1 victory over Oklahoma and the eighth seed in the tournament.
The win was far from smooth. After Kansas got an early 1-0 lead, Oklahoma came back and tied it up with 15 minutes left to play in the match. The last 10 minutes of the game were frantic for both teams and was capped by the winning score with less than three minutes to play.
“There have been so many games this year, especially in the conference, where I come off the field at the end of the game and felt really, really good about how we played, but we lost. Today, we played like crap to be honest,” coach Mark Francis said. “We battled and we fought really hard and that’s why we won the game.”
Junior midfielder Jamie Fletcher scored both goals for the Jayhawks Friday. She came into the game with 59 shots on the season, which was the most on the team and fourth overall in the league, but only had one goal.
Fletcher put the Jayhawks on top 1-0 with 16 minutes left in the first half on a play that started with a corner kick. Junior defender Haley Yearout sent the corner toward sophomore midfielder Hanna Kallmaier. Senior forward Caroline Kastor took possession of the ball and had a shot blocked by a Sooner defender. Off that rebound and amidst the scramble, Fletcher kicked the ball in for a score. She said she credits some of her offensive explosion to just being at the right place at the right time.
“In the first goal, the ball was just sitting there and I was like ‘ahhh’ and hit it in,” Fletcher said. “Sometimes you’re lucky.”
In the second half, the Jayhawks were looking to protect their lead. Often, when Oklahoma was making an offensive attack, every Kansas player on the field was on their side of the field playing defense.
With about 15 minutes left to play, the Oklahoma offense came through with its own goal. Oklahoma forward Daisy Cardona grabbed a loose ball in front of the net and sent it in past junior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Stroud. The Sooners seemed to have grabbed the momentum and started looking for a second goal or to send the match into overtime.
The comeback would fall short when Oklahoma goalkeeper Kassidie Stade earned a red card and an ejection with less than five minutes left. Kastor had run past the defense and was one-on-one with Stade, who came out of the box and tackled Kastor. Stade was replaced by Miranda Larkin who had only played in two previous games.
Larkin would concede the winning goal to Fletcher in the 88th minute. Fletcher knocked in a header off a corner by Yearout.
Both teams had missed opportunities to score before these final minutes. Oklahoma missed a penalty kick wide right, and Kastor had three run-outs and shots that didn’t turn into goals.
Stroud added 11 saves to her season today. She has 99 on the season, which is the most among conference goalkeepers.
The match also marked the last regular season game for three seniors on the team. Kastor and defenders Madi Hillis and Shannon Renner were honored in the Senior Day festivities. All three saw double-digit minutes in the match, and Kastor is currently tied for second on Kansas’ all time goal-scoring chart.
“The three seniors are awesome,” Fletcher said, “I just want them to play more games and keep on going.”
Friday was also the last time Kansas will play at Jayhawk Soccer Complex. Next season, the Jayhawks will move their matches to Rock Chalk Park, which is currently under construction.
As the eighth seed in the tournament, Kansas will face the number one seed West Virginia on Wednesday, Nov. 6, the first day of the three-day tournament. West Virginia is the regular season champion and is 7-1 in conference play, including a 2-0 victory against the Jayhawks on Oct. 18. The game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., and will be played at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Mo.
Stella Liang 