MANHATTAN – A pair of early second half goals by 15th-ranked Oklahoma State on Friday night at the K-State Soccer Complex provided the margin, 3-1, for the Cowgirls to hold back K-State in the Big 12 opener for both teams.
Kansas State (4-4-2, 0-1-0 Big 12) held the potent Oklahoma State (9-1-0, 1-0-0) offense scoreless in the first half. The Cowgirls held a 9-4 edge in total shots, but K-State goalkeeper Emma Malsy made the save on five of the on goal attempts in opening stanza. Malsy finished the night with eight saves.
The Wildcats nearly broke through first in the early stages of the second half. Sophomore Hannah Davis gathered a poor clearance from Oklahoma State 22 yards from the goal. With one dribble, Davis fired a rocket of a shot from the right side of the field. Her ball just sailed past the left upper corner and nestled on top of the netting.
Shortly after Davis’s shot, Oklahoma State punched in the first goal of the night. In the 53rd minute, Claire Gantzer found Jaci Jones at the top of the K-State 18-yard box in the center of the field. Jones blasted a shot that deflected off a K-State defender and found the right side of the goal.
The Cowgirls tagged on an insurance goal in the 54th minute, as Marlo Zoller scored her fifth goal of the season on a combination play off a free kick. Jones found Zoller in the box from 16 yards.
In the 71st minute, Oklahoma State added on a third goal with a header from Julia Lenhardt on a Taylor Olson corner kick.
K-State avoided the shutout in the 87th minute. Junior Laramie Hall hustled a ball into the Oklahoma State 18-yard box and sent a cross from the right side. The ball found the right hip of senior Haley Sutter, who deflected in the pass for her first goal of the season and the third of her K-State career.
Oklahoma State held a narrow lead in total shots on the night, 21-18, as K-State outshot the Cowgirls, 14-12, in the second half. The Cowgirls tallied an 11-6 edge in shots on goal and a 6-5 advantage in corner kicks.
Kansas State will conclude the opening Big 12 weekend on Sunday at 1 p.m., against Oklahoma. Sunday’s match is Sunday Family Day and will feature a free postgame youth clinic and team autographs on the field.
A $38 Family 4-Pack is available for the match, which includes four general admission tickets and four $10 concessions vouchers. For tickets, contact the K-State Athletics Ticket Office at (800) 221-CATS or purchase in person at the gate to the K-State Soccer Complex.
Sunday’s match will also be available on FOX College Sports – Central and K-StateHD.TV, while an audio broadcast will be for free on kstatesports.com.
– kstatesports.com –