Sept. 11, 2011

Box Score

Box Score in PDF Format

 Coach Francis | Liebetrau

 Watch Vidal's Goal

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Freshman Ingrid Vidal's golden goal in the 98^th minute lifted the Kansas soccer team past Purdue as the Jayhawks won 1-0 in overtime Sunday afternoon during the Boilermaker Challenge.

The win marked the team's first shutout of the season and the Jayhawks' first overtime win since recording a 1-0 victory in extra time versus Missouri State Sept. 18, 2007.

Kansas improved to 6-2 overall after rebounding from a 3-1 loss to Dayton Friday in the tournament's opening contest. Purdue fell to 2-5-1 with the loss.

Both teams, which were sporting black armbands to honor the memory of those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks 10 years ago, went scoreless through 90 minutes of regulation time to force a sudden-death, overtime period. With time expiring, KU sophomore Shannon Renner earned a free kick following a Purdue foul. Renner served the ball up towards the goal where sophomore Caroline Kastor headed the ball deeper into the box. Vidal beat her defender to the ball and flicked it up over the goalkeeper's head where it eventually bounced past the goal line in the 98^th minute.

Vidal's score was her fifth in the last five games, while Kastor picked up her fifth assist on the season.

"I thought it was a big-time gut check for us," said Kansas head coach Mark Francis. "The game Friday was tough. On the scoreboard, it was our worse loss this season. I challenged the team before the game to see how we would come back after a little bit of adversity on Friday. I thought the first 20 minutes we were a little bit sluggish but after that, in the second half and overtime, I thought we definitely had the better of it."

Supporting the Jayhawks' offensive efforts was Kat Liebetrau in goal. The junior made a season-high 11 saves, including eight in the second half. She also made two key stops at point-blank range during overtime as she improved to 3-1 between the posts and was named to the all-tournament team along with freshman Jamie Fletcher.

The teams made up for a slow first half by turning up the offense in the second period. After managing just four shots in the first 45 minutes, the Jayhawks fired off 11 attempts at goal in the second half, but only three were on frame. Berry and Fletcher led the offense with four and three shots, respectively, during regulation time before turning in a team-high five shots apiece for the contest.

KU continued its attack on the Purdue goal in extra time collecting five shots in only eight minutes, while the Jayhawk defense allowed just three Boilermaker attempts at goal. The backline was anchored by junior Shelby Williamson and sophomores Brittany King and Madi Hillis, who each played all 98-plus minutes of the contest.

"I thought defensively today, all the girls who played in the back did a great job," Francis said of the KU defenders. "Kat (Liebetrau) made a couple of key plays for us so that was huge."

Kansas will take next Friday off from competition but will be busy preparing for one of its toughest challenges so far this season as KU is scheduled to host top-10 opponent Florida on Sunday, Sept. 18. Match time is slated for 1 p.m. at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex.