LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Drake women's soccer team suffered a loss to the Kansas Jayhawks on Sunday night from Rock Chalk Park by a score of 3-1.
The first 45 minutes of play was largely controlled by the Jayhawks, which resulted in the Bulldogs facing a 2-0 deficit at the halftime break.
"We knew that Kansas was going to consistently turn our backline and it's unfortunate the two times we disconnected with their forwards in the first half they got in behind," Drake head coach
Lindsey Horner said. "For so much of the game our backline did so well to bump runners and be difficult to get behind."
Kansas first struck in the 22nd minute on a goal by Lexi Watts who snuck behind her defender on a through ball from Emily Tobin to give the Jayhawks the lead.
KU's second score came a little over 10 minutes later in the 33rd minute with Jordan Rowan finding the back of the net on an assist by Lydia Viets.
The Bulldog offense registered three shots in the first half against a stingy Kansas defense and had two attempts come on target. Drake's best scoring opportunity came in the 41st minute with a shot from inside the box by
Maia Bentley that was saved by KU keeper, Sophie Dawe.
Drake also had two players issued yellow cards in the first with
Paige Millstone and
Alanna Pennington picking up cautions from the official. Kansas had one player, Marit McLaughlin, earn a yellow card comparatively.
After play resumed for the second half, Kansas netted its third goal of the contest in the 51st minute. Jillian Gregorski netted the goal for the Jayhawks converting a header off a corner kick.
Drake continued to press forward in hopes of finding a goal and eventually broke through in the 73rd minute off a set piece.
Zoey Mahoney sent a free kick into the KU box and after the ball caromed between a few players, it leaked out to
Isabella Balsley and the sophomore ripped a shot into the net for her first goal of the season.
Balsley's goal proved to be the final goal of the night as the score of 3-1 remained intact until the final whistle.
"I'm proud of how our team battled and for the most part was composed to deal with their initial pressure that once we broke that, the game opened up and we created some dangerous moments," Horner added. "Before this game we felt that we were trending in the right direction, and although we didn't get a result today, I believe this performance made us better. Wednesday is going to come fast, but a home game will do us well this week."
Drake was outshot by the Jayhawks by a mark of 15-7, while KU totaled seven shots on net compared to four by the Bulldogs. Kansas also tallied more corner kicks, 10-3.
Balsley and Bentley paced the Bulldog attack each registering two shots. Goalkeeper
Addie Ford logged all 90 minutes in goal and made four saves.
The Bulldogs return to Des Moines for their next match on Wednesday, September 3. Drake welcomes the Omaha Mavericks to Mediacom Stadium for a 5 p.m. CT kickoff.
