OMAHA, Neb. – K-State took an early two-goal lead off the boot of senior Katie Cramer, but Creighton responded with three unanswered goals to secure a 3-2 win on Friday night at Morrison Stadium.
K-State has lost 10 straight matches dating back to the 2018 season, including a five-match road skid.
“I thought we came out well,” said K-State head coach Mike Dibbini. “We executed the game plan for the first 20 minutes and then we took the foot off the gas. Like I have said before, mentality-wise, we have to manage momentum. We just couldn’t manage the momentum. I don’t know what happened. We kind of fell asleep a little bit. We gave up a suspect PK that got them back in the match. Those are moments and detail moments that we have to manage on the field. If we could do a better job of that, it will help us.”
K-State (0-1-0) started the 2019 season with a bang, as the Wildcats scored in the 4th minute. Sophomore Emily Crain sent an arcing pass from midfield toward the middle of the 18-yard box. Cramer outmuscled a Creighton defender and the goalkeeper to head the ball. The ball bounced and rolled into the open frame for the early lead.
The goal ended a pair of scoreless streaks for Kansas State. K-State ended a road scoreless streak of 381:51 dating to September 16, 2018, at Tulsa. Overall, Cramer’s goal ended a 317:11 stretch dating to a home game against TCU on Oct. 14, 2018.
In the 11th minute Cramer struck again. Junior Brookelynn Entz took a free kick from just inside midfield. Entz’s laser beam to the top of the 18-yard box found the toe of Cramer. Cramer’s deflection bounced past Creighton’s Katie Sullivan for the two-goal advantage. This was the fourth career assist for Entz.
Cramer joins Entz as the only two players in program history with two goals in a match. Cramer and Entz are tied for the program lead for career points with 18 each. Cramer ranks second for career goals with the Wildcats with six.
The Bluejays closed to within one before the half on a penalty kick. Creighton’s Taryn Jakubowski was brought down just inside the 18-yard box in the 45th minute. Jakubowski would finish her attempt into the lower right corner.
Creighton (1-0-0) squared the match early in the second half. The Bluejays’ Cassie Legband served a cross from the right side of the field. The ball found her teammate, Skylar Heinrich, on the far post and she nudged it into the net with her left hip in the 49th minute.
Creighton went in front in the 63rd minute on a rebound. The Bluejays threatened with a close attempt by Kylin Grubb. K-State’s Rachel Harris made the initial save on the shot, but the ball found the foot of Keelie Fothergill who deposited it into the net.
K-State had three chances to even the match in the final two minutes, but were unable to convert.
Creighton registered a 19-14 advantage in shots, while K-State had the edge in corner kicks, 2-1.
“This is a good game for us in front of their big crowd,” said Dibbini about the opener. “We have to give Creighton credit. They are a good, solid team. They are athletic and they have some game-changing players. We just need to be ready to go. These are the games that will help us in the Big 12 and see how we rebound in the next game.
Kansas State will end the opening weekend of the season on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m., at Omaha. Sunday’s match will be available for free at kstatesports.com. A video stream of the match will also be available on Mavs All-Access to subscribers at omavs.com/watch.
– kstatesports.com –