Nov. 2, 2007

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LAWRENCE, Kan. -

Freshman defender Katie Williams scored a pair of goals three minutes, 30 seconds apart in the second half, while senior goalkeeper Colleen Quinn made eight saves as the Kansas soccer team to a 2-1 triumph over No. 18 Missouri Friday afternoon at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex.

The win, KU's third straight, moves the team to 7-9-4 overall and 5-2-3 in Big 12 play, while the Tigers drop to 12-6 overall and 6-4 in the conference. The Jayhawks' triumph moves them into a third-place tie with Missouri. KU earns the No. 3 seed at the Big 12 Soccer Championship by virtue of its head-to-head victory over the Tigers. The Jayhawks will meet sixth-seeded Oklahoma State in the first round of the conference tournament.

Friday evening, Williams finished a pair of corner kicks with her head midway through the second half. She became the first freshman to record a multi-goal match since teammate Monica Dolinsky tallied a pair of goals at Missouri last season. She is the first freshman defender in KU history to score two goals in a match.

Missouri opened the scoring early in the first half as Michelle Collins recorded her 11^th goal of the season with a shot from the far side of the box at 13:12. The Tigers attacked hard in the first half, outshooting the home team, 13-5.

In the 71^st minute, the Jayhawks tied the score as Williams used her head to direct a Monica Dolinsky corner kick inside the near post as the Jayhawks tied the score at one.

Less than four minutes later, Williams did the same thing on the far post off a Shannon McCabe corner kick. The freshman defender became the third different Jayhawk to record two goals in a match this season, joining sophomore Kim Boyer (at Texas Tech) and junior Sara Rogers (vs. Nebraska).

After allowing 13 shots in the first half, KU's defense shut the door through most of the second half. Missouri was held to just eight shots, including four on net, in the final 45 minutes, with a majority of them coming in the final 12 minutes of play.

After the early mistake, Quinn settled down and made saves on the final six shots the Tigers put on net, including an open blast from 16 yards out by Kristin Andrighetto with just over six minutes remaining. It marked the fifth straight contest that Quinn has held KU's opponent to one goal or less. KU earned four wins and a tie in those matches.

The Jayhawks opened the season with just one win in their first 10 matches, but went 6-1-2 after Oct. 1, including victories in their final three contests. Friday's win marked the first ranked opponent KU has defeated since topping then-No. 12 Duke on Sept. 10 of last season. It was also the Jayhawks' sixth straight triumph over their Border Showdown rival.

KU finished the evening by honoring its five seniors as Kelsey Archuleta, Nicole Cauzillo, Quinn, Afton Sauer and Emily Strinden were all recognized with a postgame ceremony.

KU will play sixth-seeded Oklahoma State in the first round of the Big 12 Soccer Championship Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in San Antonio, Texas. The No. 3 seed is the highest KU has received since being seeded No. 1 at the 2004 tournament.