Kansas Plays to 1-1 Draw, Clinches Six Seed in Big 12 Championship
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LAWRENCE, Kan. – Seniors Liana Salazar and Ashley Williams connected to score their team’s lone goal of the match as the Kansas Jayhawks eventually played to a 1-1 draw with the TCU Horned Frogs on a rainy Friday night inside Rock Chalk Park. With the result, Kanas clinched the No. 6 seed in next week’s Big 12 Championship and will play the No. 3 seed Texas Longhorns in the tournament quarterfinals on Wednesday, Nov. 4 at 8 p.m.
With the tie, Kansas finished the regular season at 8-8-2 with a 3-4-1 record in Big 12 play. The Horned Frogs moved to 8-7-3 and 2-3-3 in conference.
“I’m a bit disappointed with the result,” said head coach Mark Francis. “This was clearly a game we needed to win and it’s a little tougher to take because I felt we had more of the better chances, especially in overtime. It’s time to move forward though. We’re excited for the match with Texas. I feel like that’s a really good match up for us and I think the players are looking forward to playing them again.”
On a night when the Jayhawks were honoring three seniors who were seeing their final match inside Rock Chalk Park, it was fitting that two of those seniors would connect for the team’s lone goal of the night. Just passed the 30-minute mark, Williams found space down the right side of TCU’s third and played a long cross toward the far post of the Horned Frog frame. The pass curled to the head her fellow senior, Salazar, who headed it in her fifth goal of the season, just inside the left post.
Senior Liana Salazar headed in her fifth goal of the season in the Jayhawks’ 1-1 draw with TCU Friday night in Lawrence.Salazar’s goal marked the 26th of her KU career and moved her into a tie for second on the Jayhawks’ all-time goal scoring list.
Kansas took a 1-0 lead into the locker room, its fourth halftime lead of the season and second in Big 12 play.
TCU come out in the second half intent on not going out in their final regular season match without a fight. It took the Horned Frogs 11 minutes into the second from to tie up the score. Just passed midfield, forward Michelle Prokof played forward a through ball to teammate McKenzie Oliver, who had snuck in behind the KU defense on a well-timed run. After beating on defender, Oliver chipped a shot over Kansas keeper, Maddie Dobyns, who had run off her line in an attempt to stop the advancing Horned Frog. Oliver’s shot evaded the Jayhawk keeper and bounced into the back of the net to level the score at 1-1.
TCU kept Kansas on its heels for the rest of the half, outshooting the home team 7-3 over the final 30 minutes. The Horned Frogs were unable to take advantage of their numerous opportunities and the two squads headed to extra time. The overtime period marked the seventh extra time match for the Jayhawks this season, a program record.
Kansas came close to sending in a golden goal on several occasions during the two overtimes but was unable to convert, ending the 110-minute match in a draw, the Jayhawks’ second tie of the year.
Salazar ended her final home match by leading her team with four shots, two of which were on frame. Williams added three shots of her own. Dobyns tallied four saves in an 84-minute outing.
The Jayhawks will now head into postseason-play where they will meet the Texas Longhorns in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship. The tournament, to be hosted at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Missouri, will kick off at 11 a.m., on Wednesday, Nov. 4 with the KU-UT match kicking off at 8 p.m.
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