KU soccer falls short of comeback win in home opener, ties Tulsa 2-2

By David Rodish Aug 22, 2024

Kansas senior Raena Knust celebrates a goal against Tulsa at Rock Chalk Park, Thursday, August 22, 2024 in Lawrence.

KU’s soccer home opener came short of a rally win against Tulsa on Thursday night, as the match ended in a 2-2 tie at Rock Chalk Park.

The strengths of KU’s team popped out from the start of the match. The Jayhawks played fast and aggressively, which led to them taking a dramatic lead in shots early and never quite allowing the Golden Hurricanes to catch up. Tulsa didn’t have a shot until inside the final two minutes of the first half.

“It felt like we had them on the ropes for a decent amount of the game, but they kept fighting, scrapping,” coach Nate Lie said after his first home game with the Jayhawks. “They were very dangerous on corners, on set pieces and were very opportunistic.”

During media day earlier this month, Lie said that he wants spectators to not have to turn their heads, and that the ball and all the action should be centered around the attacking third. For the most part, the Jayhawks accomplished this goal, particularly at the start. Lie said postgame that five of the team’s seven best chances to score came in the first 15 minutes of the match, yet none came to be goals.

“When you do that against a good team and you let them hang around, it’s going to change the momentum at some point,” Lie said.

Lexi Watts led the charge offensively in the first half, accounting for four of the team’s 12 shots and two of KU’s four shots on goal. The defense prevented Tulsa from holding possession for most of the half. Across the entire first half, the Golden Hurricanes held controlled possession in the offensive half of the field for brief moments that added up to only a minute or two.

In one of those brief moments, the Golden Hurricanes managed to pop the ball up in the goal area, which was hit by a KU player and landed in the Jayhawks’ goal. Despite a 12-2 shot advantage, the Jayhawks entered halftime with a goal deficit.

KU bounced back quickly after the break and tied the game with a goal from Jillian Gregorski and an assist from Saige Wimes. Lie credited his team for responding coming out of the half.

“We’re going to try to build winning habits here at KU soccer, and part of winning habits is how you respond when you get scored on or how you score,” Lie said. “We were disappointed at halftime, but credit to the team. They took the messaging and ran with it and put up two goals pretty quickly.”

After the game-tying goal, the Jayhawks came close to taking the lead with Wimes’s shot, which was blocked, followed by Lauren Wood’s shot, which also was blocked. By the 60th minute, the Jayhawks held a 21-3 shot advantage.

Finally, in the 68th minute, the Jayhawks took the lead in the match. Raena Knust scored the goal with Wimes earning her second assist of the game. The Jayhawks continued to push but couldn’t find the back of the net for the rest of the night.

In the later parts of the second half, the Golden Hurricanes stepped up their attack and landed a game-tying goal in the 78th minute from sophomore Leah Diaz.

The Jayhawks continued to possess the ball and attack the net, but nothing came of it. Despite 30 shots to Tulsa’s six, the game ended in a 2-2 tie. A challenging game like this can be beneficial for the team as they navigate a large roster upheaval and a new coach.

“We need games like this, we need games that come down to the last few minutes,” Lie said. “We have to learn how to manage games better, and hopefully we get the lessons we need out of this.”

The score was a disappointment for the team in its home opener, but the Jayhawks will need to quickly rally as they take on a tough Brown team on the road on Monday. For that game, Lie said his team is going to have to earn everything.

“A theme in the teams we’ve played is you have to earn what you get,” he said. “Brown is one of the most successful teams in college soccer over the last four years — all they’ve done is win. But the reason we scheduled them is we have goals, and to accomplish those goals we have to beat some good teams.”

Kansas freshman Mikayla Coore-Pascal and teammates celebrate with senior Raena Knust against Tulsa at Rock Chalk Park, Thursday, August 22, 2024 in Lawrence.