LUBBOCK, Texas – K-State soccer closed its fourth season on Thursday night with a 4-1 loss to Texas Tech at the John Walker Soccer Complex.
The Wildcats ended the season at 3-13-2 with a 1-8-0 mark in conference play. Texas Tech improved to 14-2-2 with a record of 6-1-2 in Big 12 play.
K-State opened the match with a few early chances with the wind at their back, but the hosts jumped on top with a goal from Kirsten Davis in the fourth minute. Davis hit the crossbar on her first attempt but was right there to score on the rebound for her 14th goal of the year.
The Red Raiders pushed the lead to 2-0 in the 11th minute. Charlotte Teeter had a shot blocked, but her second attempt found the corner of the net. Just five minutes later, Davis found some space behind the K-State back line to score her second of the night.
The hosts weren’t done. Penelope Mulenga found the back of the net from long range for her first career goal in the 20th minute, and Texas Tech took a 4-0 advantage to the halftime break.
“We came out of the gates slow,” acknowledged K-State head coach Mike Dibbini. “We were a little scared and timid defensively. We still created some good chances offensively, but defensively, we just didn’t impose our will.”
K-State continued to fight in the second half, and the effort was rewarded when Aly Rocha put the Wildcats on the board in the 57th minute. The rocket from the left wing was the first goal of the senior’s career.
“That was awesome,” said Dibbini. “She’s had a great career at K-State. She’s been working really hard for us, and she deserved that.”
For the match, Texas Tech held a slim 18-15 advantage in shots. Both teams attempted seven corners on the night. Brookelynn Entz had a team-best four shots, while Laramie Hall and Maddie Souder added three shots apiece. Rachel Harris made a pair of saves for the Wildcats.
“I thought we won the second half,” Dibbini said. “We played well both sides of the ball. We created a lot of chances. We scored a goal and had some other chances. We competed much better from top to bottom in the second half, and I was proud of that effort. We learned a lot today.”
Thursday marked the final match for Rocha, Katie Cramer, Laramie Hall, Emma Malsy, and Ashley Zane.
“We’re excited about the future,” noted Dibbini. “We’re ready to regroup and reflect. We’ll do a lot of that and then figure out our next steps to continue moving this program in the direction it needs to move in.”
– kstatesports.com –